'1' 


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OFFICERS    OF    THE 

Jeannette  Arctic   Expedition. 

COPYRIGHT     SECURED    IBS*,    AMERICAN     PUBLISHING    COM" ANY. 

ARTOTYPE,      K     BIERSTATT,    IT.    T. 


a? 


Copyright,  1882, 

AMERICAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
HARTFORD,  CT. 


Bancroft  Library 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Arctic  Ocean  has  been  for  years  the  nursery  of  heroic 
deeds.  And  had  the  results  of  enterprise  been  even  less  than  they 
have  been  in  that  region  of  frost  and  ice,  and  months-long  night, 
what  has  been  shown  there  of  that  which  is  noblest  and  most  ad- 
mirable in  man  would  have  been  worth  all  that  it  has  cost.  The 
story  of  war  and  of  battle  brings  to  light  much  bravery,  much  en- 
durance,— of  ten  much  magnanimity ;  yet  the  record  is  stained  with 
so  much  of  bloodshed,  and  of  cruelty,  that  not  infrequently  it 
seems  more  like  a  transcript  of  the  baser  human  passions  than  of 
heroic  courage  and  noble  achievement.  And  Arctic  discovery, 
too,  is  full  of  pain,  for  its  course  is  tracked  with  hardships,  and  its 
field  is  sown  with  graves.  Yet  there  is  so  much  ol  brightness,  of 
hope,  of  mutual  helpfulness,  and  of  novel  experience  in  the  record, 
that  we  turn  to  the  stories  of  polar  adventure  with  the  same  zest 
with  which  boys  breathe  in  the  probabilities  and  glorious  reckless- 
ness of  such  adventurers  as  Tom  Sawyer. 

The  book  now  "before  the  reader  falls  not  a  whit  behind  its 
predecessors.  Indeed,  as  an  unbroken  current  of  hardship,  dis- 
appointments, perils,  and  final  disaster,  uncheered  with  scarce  a 
gleam  of  that  success  which  was  fondly  hoped  at  the  outset,  the 
work  is  without  a  rival.  From  the  time  when  this  little  company 
of  about  one-third  of  a  hundred  souls,  became  entangled  in  thfc  ice 
masses  off  Herald  Island  and  Northeastern  Siberia,  and  then  em- 
bedded in  the  floes,  on  and  on,  through  the  long  winters  of  1879, 
1880,  and  1881,  and  through  the  brief  summers  of  1880  and  1881, 
down  to  the  discovery  of  some  of  the  survivors,  and  in  their  im- 
mense and  unparalleled  feats  of  courage,  strength,  and  endurance 
in  crossing  the  ice-fields  after  the  Jeannette  went  down,  till  they 
reached  the  Siberian  villages  and  towns,  there  is  one  continuous 
strain  of  heroism,  one  incessant  and  good-humored  story  of  that 
which  is  best  and  most  hopeful  in  the  human  soul.  And  so  the 
book  becomes  in  its  revelations  of  character,  a  work  of  singular 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

and  thrilling  interest.  Those  sturdy  men  of  many  nationalities  and 
many  languages,  embracing  not  only  the  best  known  European 
people,  but  the  Chinese  and  the  North  American  Indians,  all  work- 
ing in  harmony,  and  for  the  common  good;  those  rude  and  primi- 
tive Tunguses  of  Northern  Asia,  hospitable  and  kindly;  the  Cos- 
sacks, and  even  the  exiles  who  had  been  driven  to  Siberia  for 
their  offences,  warming  into  charity  and  hospitality  towards  the 
sufferers  from  a  distant  land ;  the  zeal  of  the  surviving  men  of 
the  Jeannette  to  learn,  to  the  last  particular,  the  fate  of  DeLong 
and  of  Chipp;  the  earnestness  and  eagerness  of  the  officers  to  attain 
to  all  possible  scientific  results;  the  loyalty  of  all  to  their  superiors 
in  office,  and  the  fidelity  to  the  great  fact  of  law, — all  this  invests 
the  book  with  a  delightful  and  incessant  charm. 

And  as  the  interest  of  the  world  grows  breathless  to  catch  the 
last  words  of  this  intrepid  band,  and  the  remotest  whispers  of  their 
fate,  the  sense  of  their  endurance,  their  courage,  and  their  high 
and  manly  hope,  becomes  more  inspiring.  No  audience  is  larger  than 
that  which  now  awaits  each  voice  that  can  tell  us  of  the  fortunes 
of  the  Jeannette  and  her  crew.  The  discovery  of  the  dreadful 
fate  which  met  the  DeLong  party  comes  to  us  as  the  crowning 
agony  of  a  long  series  of  distresses.  But  while  such  disasters  win 
universal  sympathy,  the  story  of  such  a  retreat  as  that  of  the  boat- 
loads of  men  whose  untiring  efforts  during  the  summer  of  1881, 
after  they  left  the  Jeannette,  this  volume  records,  will  be  read  with 
the  interest  which  is  only  given  to  deeds  of  sustained  courage 
and  manly  striving.  And  we  have  no  fear  that  the  modest  tale 
will  fail  of  finding  its  thousands  of  readers. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  JEANNETTE  AND  HER  CREW  —  VOYAGE   TO  THE  ARCTIC   OCEAN. 

PAGE. 

The  Pandora  bought,  renamed,  and  fitted  out  —  Officers  and  Crew  — 
Departure  from  San  Francisco  —  Anequin  and  Alexai  —  Arrival 
at  Northeastern  Siberia  —  Good-bye  to  Civilization  —  Last  tidings 
of  the  Jeannette 17 

CHAPTER  II. 

A   SEARCH  FOR  MISSING  WHALERS   AND   THE   JEANNETTE. 

The  Mt.  Woolaston  and  Vigilant  —  Reminiscence  of  Captain  Nye  — 
Sailing  of  the  Corwin —  Indian  Village  at  St.  Michaels — Bear- 
hunters  of  Alaska  —  The  starved  Islanders  —  Deserted  Villages  — 
Capture  of  whisky-trading  schooners  —  Cruise  in  Arctic  waters  — 
Interesting  incidents  —  The  northern  pack  and  its  fatal  drift.  .  .  28 

CHAPTER  III. 

SEARCHES   FOR  THE   JEANNETTE — SECOND  CRUISE   OF   THE   CORW.TN. 

Search  Expeditions  of  1881  —  The  Jeannette  Relief -Board  —  The  Cor- 
win starts  north  —  Landing  of  search  party  on  Siberian  coast  — 
Fate  of  the  lost  whalers  discovered  —  Exploration  of  Herald 
Island  —  Professor  Muir's  narrative  —  Landing  on  Wrangel  Island 

—  Wreck  of  the  Webster  — The  Golden  Fleece  and  Ray's  Expedi- 
tion —  Excursion  to  the  Reindeer  Chukches  —  The  Diomedes  —  An 
Esquimaux  Long  Branch  —  No  traces  of  the  missing  explorers.  .     .     39 

CHAPTER  IV. 

SEARCHES   FOR   THE   JEANNETTE  —  CRUISE    OF   THE   RODGERS. 

The  Mary  and  Helen  renamed  the  Rodgers  —  Officers  and  crew  — 
Departure  from  San  Francisco  —  The  180th  Meridian  —  Description 
of  the  Bay  of  Avatcha,  Petropavolvsk,  and  Commander's  Island  — 
Slaughter  of  sea-bears  at  Copper  Island  —  Voyage  to  Cape  Serdze 

—  Visit  to  a  Ckukcke  village  —  Wrangel  Island  explored — An  ex- 
citing bear -hunt  —  Waring's  adventures — Putnam's  winter  camp 

—  The  Rodgers  goes  into  winter  quarters  in  St.  Lawrence  Bay.  .     .     54 


Tl  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

SEARCHES  FOR  THE  JEANNETTE —  CRUISE   OF  THE  ALLIANCE, 

PA.GH. 

The  Steamship  Alliance  and  her  officers  —  The  start  from  Norfolk 
Navy- Yard  —  Voyage  to  Iceland  and  Norway  —  Exciting  news  — 
Voyage  to  Bear  Island  and  Spitzbergon  —  The  midnight  sun  as  seen 
near  Horn  Sound  —  White  whales  —  Walrus  hunters  at  Bell  Sound 

—  Beyond  the  80th  Parallel  —  In  a  fog  —  A  fairy -like  scene  — View 
from  the  crow's  nest  —  Exciting  times  at  Dane's  Island  —  Return 
to  Hammerf est,  and  home  —  A  phenomenal  cruise  —  Results  of  the 
Voyage 71 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PLANS  FOR  AN  INTERNATIONAL  SEARCH. 

No  news  from  the  Jeannette  —  Lost  in  ^he  Arctic  —  Lehigh  Hunt's 
Expedition  —  Action  of  London  Geographical  Society  —  Reminis- 
cence of  the  Franklin  Search  —  Plans  of  operation  —  Opinions  of 
Arctic  travelers 79 

•  CHAPTER  VII. 

FIRST  TIDINGS  FROM  THE  EXPLORERS. 

Startling  news  from  Irkutsk  —  Arrival  of  some  of  the  Jeannette's 
crew  on  the  Siberian  coast  —  Official  telegrams  —  Prompt  action 
of  Russian  officers  —  Second  Cutter  missing  —  A  season  of  sus- 
pense—"By  Baikal's  Lake."  .83 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   SIBERIAN   TUNDRA. 

A  land  of  desolation  —  The  Tundra  in  summer  —  An  animated  scene 

—  Arctic  moss  —  Graphic  description  of  the  Tundra  in  winter  — 
Dreariness,  cold,  and  solitude — Frozen  in  mammoth  and  rhinoce- 
.ros —  Curious  legends  of  the  natives — Fossil  ivory — The  "isle 

of  bones." W 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   LENA   RIVER   AND   ITS  DELTA. 

A  mighty  river  —  Its  head- waters  and  tributaries  —  Ledyard's  travels, 
and  voyage  down  the  stream  —  Hospitable  Russians — Valley  of  the 
Lower  Lena,  and  its  inhabitants  —  Description  of  the  Delta  — Im- 
mense sea-coast  —  Seven  great  arms  of  the  Lena  —  A  wonderful 
sight  —  The  Vega  and  Lena  —  A  disappointing  pilot  —  Johannesen's 
voyage  up  the  river  —  Amusing  incidents  —  Curious  customs  and 
ceremonies  —  Ludicrous  thanksgiving  service  —  Extinguishing  a 
•clerk.'  98 


CONTENTS.  VU 

CHAPTER  X. 

ENGINEER  MELVILLE'S  NARRATIVE. 

PAGE. 

Melville  in  command  of  whale-boat  —  His  story  of  the  voyage  and 
sinking  of  the  Jeannette,  the  retreat  south,  the  separation  of  the 
boats,  and  the  landtog  of  his  party  — The  discovery  by  natives, 
who  conduct  them  to  a  village  where  startling  mews  from  Ninder- 
mann  arrives  —  Searches  for  De  Long  —  The  survivors  at  Yakutsk.  Ill 

CHAPTER  XI. 

LIEUTENANT  DE  LONGr'S  RECORDS. 

Copies  of  four  records  found  in  huts  along  the  North  channel  of  the 
Lena,  which  were  left  there  by  De  Long  as  he  retreated  southward.  125 

CHAPTER  XII. 

EXPERIENCES   OF  NINDERMANN,    NOROS,    AND  LEACH. 

Verbatim  copy  of  Nindermann's  letter  written  at  Bulun  —  Noros's 
story  of  his  parting  with  De  Long  when  he  and  Nindermann  were 
sent  on  for  relief  —  The  narrative  of  Mr.  Leach 130 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

YAKUTSK. 

The  '  City  of  the  Yakuts '  —  The  Cossack  conquerors  of  Siberia  —  The 
Province  of  Yakutsk  —  Natives,  Russian  peasants,  and  exiles  — 
Yakuts  and  Tonguses  —  Ostyak  tents  —  Winter  dwellings  —  Cus- 
toms of  the  country  —  Priests  —  The  '  Pole  of  Cold  '  —  Interesting 
notes  of  travelers  —  A  story  of  Russian  jealousy  —  Ledyard's 
eulogy  of  women  —  Life  at  Yakutsk 140 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

IRKUTSK. 

The  capital  of  Eastern  Siberia  —  A  cheerful  resting-place  —  Descrip- 
tion of  the  city  and  its  suburbs  —  Lake  Baikal  —  Valley  of  the 
Angara  —  Account  of  the  great  fire  of  1879  —  The  fire  brigade  — 
Ludicrous  scenes  and  incidents  —  Religious  processions  —  Mr. 
Jackson's  journey  to  Irkutsk  —  Meeting  with  the  Jeannette  crew.  154 

CHAPTER  XV. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE. 

The  story  of  the  expedition  —  Sailing  of  the  Jeannette  —  Daring  the 
ice-pack  —  Frozen  in  —  Drifting  —  Life  on  ship  —  A  break-up — 
Anequin's  discovery  —  Tremendous  pressures  —  Severe  gales  —  A 
bad  leak  —  Starting  the  pumps  —  Hunting  excursions  —  Chipp'6 
experiments  —  Exciting  bear  chases  —  De  Long's  adventure.  .  .  169 


Till  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE — (CONTINUED.) 

PAGE. 

The  Jeannette  in  winter  quarters  —  Constant  danger  —  Bear-hunting 
on  the  floes  —  Melville's  Canal — Scurvy — Discovery  of  Jeannette 
Island  — An  excursion  to  Henrietta  Island  —  A  curious  mistake  — 
Mount  Sylvie  —  Breaking  up  of  the  ice  —  An  even  keel  —  A  fas- 
cinating danger  —  The  hunters'  recall  — A  fatal  nip  —  Abandoning 
the  ship — Encamped  on  the  ice  —  Sinking  of  the  Jeannette.  .  .  191 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE — (CONTINUED.) 

Preparations  for  a  long  journey  —  Sleds,  boats,  and  outfit  —  Order  of 
march  —  The  start  southward  —  A  discouraging  outlook  —  Start- 
ling discovery  —  Ferrying  the  fissures  —  The  hospital  tent  —  Hero- 
ism of  men  —  Land  ahead  —  A  dash  for  the  shore  —  Annexation  of 
Bennett  Island — Land-slides  —  Dunbar's  exploring  trip 207 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE — (CONTINUED.) 

Launching  the  boats  —  Start  for  Bennett  Island  —  Deserting  dogs  — 
"Working  south  between  ice-fields —  Fatal  delay  at  Ten  Day  Camp 

—  Among  the  New  Siberian  Islands  —  Hunting  on  Thaddeoffsky — 
A  terrible  situation  —  Halt  on  Kotelnoi  —  Hunting  parties  —  Stal- 
bovoi  —  Hunting  on  Semenoff ski  —  Last  interview  with  Chipp  — A 
start  for    Siberia  —  Fearful  gale,   which  separates  the    boats  — 
Launching  a  drag  —  An  eventful  night — Another  day  and  night.  222 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE — (CONTINUED.) 

Off  the  coast  —  Attempts  to  reach  shore  —  Enter  and  proceed  up  a 
river  — A  night  of  agony  in  a  hunting-camp  —  A  delightful  Sunday 

—  Reconnoitering  —  First  meeting  with  natives  —  Piloted  south  by 
Cut-eared  Wassili  —  At  Spiridon's  village  —  The  voyage  continued.  238 

CHAPTER  XX. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE — (CONCLUDED.) 

Arrival  at  Geemovialocke  —  The  chief's  house  —  Visited  by  a  Rus- 
sian exile  —  Attempt  to  proceed  —  Return  to  the  village  —  Decayed 
geese  —  Sojourn  at  the  Tunguse  village  — A  native  feast  day  — 
Arrival  of  another  exile  —  Entertained  at  Kusmah's  house  —  The 
exile  starts  for  Bulun  —  Danenhower's  search  for  De  Long —  Start- 
ling news  —  Melville  starts  to  search  for  De  Long  —  Arrival  of 
Oossack  commander  —  Journey  to  Bulun  and  Yakutsk 253 


CONTENTS.  ix 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

LIEUTENANT   DE  LONG'S  LOG-BOOK. 

PAGE. 

A  copy  of  the  Jeannette's  log  kept  by  the  commander  from  May  17th 
to  June  12th,  1881,  when  the  ship  sunk 262 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

A   BOLL   OF   HONOR. 

Report  of  the  Ispravnik  of  Verkhoyansk  —  Nicholai  censured  —  Gen- 
erous natives,  exiles,  and  officials  —  Danenhower's  letter.  .  .  .  270 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
MR.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 

Incidents  of  the  voyage  north  —  Ougalgan  Island  —  Kolyutschin  Bay 
— Skating  off  Herald  Island  —  Adventure  with  bears  —  Singular 
phenomenon  —  Sea-gulls  —  Grand  auroral  display  —  Christmas  and 
New  Year's  entertainments  —  Indian  superstitions  —  At  the  pumps 
— Dangerous  excursion  —  Entomological  specimens 277 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
MR.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED.) 

Conflict  of  the  floes  —  Jeannette  Minstrel  Troupe — Christmas  enter- 
tainment—  Fac-simile  of  programme  —  Mr.  Collins's  poem  —  A 
dream  of  home  —  Discovery  of  new  lands  —  Animal  life  —  A  tre- 
mendous nip —  The  Jeannette  doomed  and  deserted  —  A  night  on 
the  ice  —  The  ship  sinks  —  A  dreadful  blank. 292 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

MR.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED.) 

Appearance  of  camp  —  The  retreat  begun  —  Landing  on  American 
soil  —  Tramps  on  Bennett  Island  —  Among  the  birds  —  Interesting 
volley  —  Building  a  cairn  —  Sailing  southward  —  Adventures 
among  the  New  Siberian  Islands  —  Start  for  Siberia  —  Gales  and 
tempests  —  On  the  big  land  once  more  —  A  luxurious  hut.  .  .  .  308 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
MR.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED.) 

A  start  up  the  Lena  —  Meet  natives  —  A  dinner  with  Theodore, 
Tomat,  and  Carinie  —  Pictures  of  '  saints '  —  Horse-hair  nets  —  Old 
Bushielle  —  A  voyage  south  —  Arrival  and  long  residence  at  a  Tun- 
guse  village  —  Friendly  exiles  —  Dwellings,  dress,  and  customs  — 
Routine  of  life  —  Religious  feasts  —  Kusmah,  the  exile  —  A  present 
from  the  Pope  of  Bulun  —  De  Long  in  distress  —  Melville's  depar- 
ture —  Journey  to  Bulun  by  dog-teams 320 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
MB.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED.) 

PAGE. 

Good-bye  to  Bulun  —  Reindeer  teams  —  Nights  in  a  povarnia  —  Las- 
soing reindeer  —  Experiences  on  the  road  —  Meeting  with  exiles 
—  Arrival  at  Verkhoyansk  —  Russian  officials  —  The  outposts  of 
civilization  —  The  famous  vodka  —  A  village  of  exiles  —  Customs 
of  the  country  —  Journey  resumed  —  Cross  the  Arctic  Circle  — 
Retrospective  —  Exiled  Poles  —  Russian  traders  —  Descending  the 
mountains  —  Novel  sight  —  Fine  scenery  —  Accidents  —  Visit  to 
Reindeer  Tunguses  —  A  night  attack  —  Curious  scenes  and  inci- 
dents along  the  road  by  night  and  day  —  Odd  customs  .....  332 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

MB.    NEWCOMB'S   NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED.) 

Approach  to  Yakutsk  —  The  Mecca  of  my  hopes  —  Hospitable  recep- 
tion —  Sight-seeing  —  An  old  fortress  —  .  Life  at  Yakutsk  —  Evening 
recreations  —  New  Year's  day  —  The  Russian  Christmas  —  Churches 
and  priests  —  Curious  fire-engines  —  A  peculiar  people  —  The  start 
homeward  —  '  Jining  the  army  '  —  Reception  at  Irkutsk  —  Dr. 
Ledyard  —  Life  in  the  metropolis  —  Arrival  of  Jackson  —  Noros 
returns  east  —  A  sample  of  the  'boys.'  ..........  343 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MR.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED.) 
Leave  I^utek  —  Meet  Harber  and  Scheutze  —  Seamen  turn  back  — 


through  Siberia  —  Sights  at  Tomsk  —  The  Siberian  women 

—  Omsk  —  Life  on  the  Kirghesian    steppes  —  Easter    Sunday  at 
Throisky  —  Village    entertainments  —  Russian    superstitions  —  A 
wedding  —  Fanciful  dresses  —  A  capsize  —  The  Ural  River  —  Osk  — 
The  Ural  Mountains  —  Fine  views  —  Kirghese  hunters  —  Cossack 
villages  —  Orenburg  and  the  'iron  horse'  —  An  interesting  city  — 
Ride  along  the  Volga  —  Agricultural  scenes  —  Moscow  —  St.  Peters- 
burg —  Interview  with   the  emperor   and  empress  —  Cronstadt  — 
Hull  —  Liverpool  —  '  Home  again.  '      ...........  853 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

DE  LONG'S  PATE  DISCOVERED  —  THE  GRAVES  ON  THE  LENA. 

The  search  renewed  —  Melville  at  Cath  Carta  —  Visit  to  Cape  Bykoff 

—  Fearful  storms  —  An  account  of  the  search  for  and  finding  of 
De  Long  and  his  men  —  The  rifle  in  the  snow  —  '  All  dead  '  — 
Removal  of  the  lost  explorers  —  Description  of  their  mausoleum  — 
Inscription   on  the  cross  —  The  tragedy  on  the  Delta  —  Strange 
incidents  —  The  nightly  alarm  fire  —  De  Long's  last  effort.     .     .     .  366 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

LIEUTENANT   DE  LONG'S  DIARY. 

PAGE. 

A  melancholy  relic  —  Copy  of  De  Long's  diary  extending  from 
October  15th  to  the  end  —  A  terrible  story  of  hardships,  sufferings, 
and  death,  and  of  heroic  bravery  and  Christian  resignation.  .  .  .  379 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

NEW  SEARCHERS  IN  THE  FIELD. 

The  search  for  Chipp  —  Travelers  from  the  East  and  the  West  — 
Berry,  Hunt,  and  Gilder  —  Harber  and  Scheutze's  expedition  — 
Preparations  at  Vitimsk  —  Hunt  and  Bartlett  join  Harber — Meeting 
of  steamers  —  Homeward  journey  of  the  returning  explorers.  .  .  394 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

BURNING  OF  THE  RODGERS  —  AN  ICE-FLOE  TRAGEDY. 

The  Rodgers  at  St.  Lawrence  Bay  — '  Fire ' !  —  Burning  of  the  Ship 

—  Escape  to  the  shore  —  A  grand  sight  —  At  home  with  the  Chuk- 
ches  —  Grace's  narrative  —  Putnam  missing  —  Alarming  discovery 

—  Drifting  on  the  ice  —  Putnam's  sad  fate 401 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

LIFE  AMONG  THE  CHURCHES. 

Hunting  for  a  living  —  Fisherwomen,  medicine-men,  dwellings,  cus- 
toms and  superstitions  —  Visit  to  Reindeer  Chukches  —  Death  of 
a  girl  —  Li^  at  Camp  Hunt  —  Three  strangers  —  Zane's  adventure 
— Retreat  south  —  Arrival  of  the  North  Star  and  Corwin  —  Rescue 
of  the  castaways  —  Loss  of  the  North  Star 414 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
MR.  GILDER'S  TRAVELS  IN  SIBERIA. 

The  start  from  Camp  Hunt  —  Traveling  companions  —  Waiting  for 
Wanker  —  Chukche  amusements  —  Dancing  girls  —  Love-sick  Con- 
stantine  —  Journey  to  Cape  North  —  A  genuine  '  poorga'  — A  night 
in  the  snow  —  The  Chukche  caravan  —  A  brilliant  sight  —  Orna- 
mental bells  —  Lost  in  a  snow-storm  —  Carried  over  a  precipice  — 
Badly  frozen  —  Loss  of  dogs  —  On  the  borders  of  civilization  —  A 
night  in  a  deserted  hut  —  An  abandoned  village  —  Picture  of  life 
in  a  cottage  —  Down  the  Kolyma  —  Arrival  at  Wanker's  house  — 
Surprising  changes  —  An  old  hypocrite  —  The  powerful  stranger  — 
Escape  from  Wanker  —  Friendly  villagers  —  Arrival  at  Nishni 
Kolymsk  —  Journey  to  Middle  Kolymsk  —  Description  of  the  town 
and  its  people  —  Curious  sights  —  Antiquated  implements  —  Inside 
the  houses  —  Interesting  exiles  —  An  unpardonable  offence  —  A 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAOE. 

convenient  religion  —  Pictures  of  saints  —  Household  devotions  — 
'Dear  little  Nanyah'  and  her  guardian  — A  beautiful  sight  — 
'Vodka,'  and  the  custom  of  the  country  —  Journey  to  Verkhoy- 
ansk  428 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  FORLORN  HOPE. 

Additional  particulars  respecting  the  parting  of  Nmdermann  and 
Noros  from  De  Long,  and  of  their  journey  to  Bulun 449 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

ENGINEER  MELVILLE'S  NARRATIVE  —  (CONTINUED). 

The  voyage  from  Semenoffsky  and  separation  of  the  boats  —  The 
November  search  for  De  Long—  Opinion  as  to  Chipp's  fate  — Find- 
ing of  the  first  cutter 462 

APPENDIX. 

An  account  of  the  arrival  and  reception  of  Melville  and  his  com- 
panions  „ 470 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS. 


PAGB. 
PHOTOGRAPHIC  PORTRAITS  OF  THE  OFFICERS  OF  THE 

ARCTIC  STEAMER  JEANNETTE,'      ....        Frontispiece. 

GROUP  OF  EXPLORERS  IN  ARCTIC  COSTUME,        ....  17 

ALEXAI  AND  HIS  WIFE — THEIR  LAST  INTERVIEW,          ...  24 

ESQUIMAUX  FAMILY  NEAR  CAPE  PRINCE  OF  WALES,     ...  36 

TATTOOED  WOMAN  OF  ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND,      ....  38 

THE  CORWIN  SEARCH  PARTY — SLEDGING  ON  THE  SIBERIAN  COAST,  44 

A  BIRD  NURSERY, 47 

PETROPAVLOSK — REPULSE  OF  THE  ALLIES, 57 

COMMANDER'S  ISLANDS — SLAUGHTER  OF  SEA-BEARS,      ...  58 

CHUKCHES  VISITING  THE  RODGERS  IN  SKIN  BOATS,        ...  60 

INTERVIEWING  A  DENIZEN  OF  WRANGEL  LAND,    ....  62 

PREPARING  FOR  WINTER, 70 

HUT  OF  WRECKED  NORWEGIANS  AT  BEAR  ISLAND,       ...  73 

GLACIERS  AT  BELL  SOUND,  SPITZBERGEN, 74 

SAMOYEDES  OF  ARCHANGEL,     .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  .     78 

THE  "RESCUE," 82 

LIMIT  OF  TREES  IN  SIBERIA,   .        .        .        .        .        ••:'""•        .  92 

MAMMOTH  SKELETON  IN  THE  MUSEUM  AT  St.  PETERSBURG,         .  95 

NATIVE  OF  THE  TUNDRA,  WITH  SIBERIAN  -RHINOCEROS-HORN,     .  96 

SIBERIAN  RIVER  BOAT,     .                                99 

YAKUSTK,   EASTERN  SIBERIA,   IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY,  101 
THE  VEGA  AND  LENA  SALUTING  CAPE  CHELYUSKIN,    .        .        .104 

LANDING  A  SEA-SICK  OFFICIAL, 109 

WINTER  YOURT, 110 

THE  JEANNETTE  FASTENED  TO  A  FLOE,        .....  113 
GRAVES  IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FORESTS  OF  SIBERIA,  .        .        .        .124 

LIEUTENANT  DE  LONG  AND  HIS  MEN  WADING  ASHORE,        !       .  126 

THE  PARTING  ON  THE  LENA, 133 

SIBERIAN  VILLAGE  CHURCH,     .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  141 

SIBERIAN  PEASANT,  WITH  SAMOVAR, 142 

OSTYAK  TENTS  MADE  OF  BIRCH-BARK, 143 

NATIVE  GIRLS  OF  YAKUTSK  IN  WINTER,  COSTUME,        .        .        .146 

YAKUTSK  IN  OUR  DAYS 147 

A  WINTER  JOURNEY — AMONG  THE  DRIFTS, 153 


(xiii) 


XIV  LIST   OF   ENGRAVINGS. 

LAKE  BAIKAL,  EASTERN  SIBERIA,  IN  WINTER,       .        .     '   .        .155 

VIEW  IN  IRKUTSK,            157 

A  CITY  ON  FIRE, 161 

EXILED  CRIMINAL  IN  CHAINS, 166 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER  TELLING  HIS  STORY,   ....  168 

NORDENSKIOLD'S  WINTER  QUARTERS,  KOLYUTSCHIN  BAY,     .        .  172 

WHALERS  STOPPED  BY  THE  ICE, 174 

SKATING  ON  THE  YOUNG  ICE,  .        .        » 176 

THE  ICE  IN  MOTION,        .        .        . 178 

ARCTIC  AURORAS,               185 

DE  LONG'S  ADVENTURE — A  MUTUAL  SURPRISE,      ....  187 

IN  THE  CROW'S-NEST, 190 

BEAR-HUNTING  ON  THE  FLOE,        ........  193 

JEANNETTE  ISLAND, 194 

ARCTIC  GLACIER,       ..........  197 

THE  JEANNETTE  OREW  ABANDONING  THEIR  SHIP,        .        .        .  203 

THE  SINKING  OF  THE  JEANNETTE, 206 

FIRST  CAMP  AFTER  STARTING  SOUTH, 213 

VIEW  OF  BENNETT  ISLAND 220 

EXPLORATION  OF  BENNETT  ISLAND,        ......  221 

WORKING  SOUTH  THROUGH  THE  ICE, 223 

THADDEOFFSKY  ISLAND, 226 

STOLBOVOI  ISLAND, 230 

THE  SEPARATION  OF  THE  BOATS,     .......  234 

CHILD  IN  ARCTIC  RIG, 237 

FISHERMAN'S  HUTS,  ..........  249 

WINTER  RESIDENCE  OF  THE  RUSSIAN  EXILE,        ....  253 

ARCTIC  YOUNGSTER, 261 

OUTLINES  OF  JEANNETTE  ISLAND, 263 

EFFECTS  OF  A  NIP, 269 

ON  THE  RETREAT, 273 

GLAUCOUS-WINGED  GULLS,         .        .        ."               .        .        .        .  278 

WALRUS, 281 

EFFECT  OF  ICE  PRESSURES, 283 

"MORE  FRESH  MEAT," 289 

AN  ARCTIC  SKETCH, 291 

CONFLICT   OF  THE  FLOES 292 

THE  JEANNETTE  IN  HER  LAST  DOCK, 301 

A  VISION    OF   HOME,     ..........  303 

OLD-WORLD  POLAR  DRESS — FROM  A  PAINTING  IN  THE  STOCKHOLM 

MUSEUM, .  307 

A  SUCCESSFUL  HUNTER 309 

ANNEXATION  OF  BENNETT  ISLAND, 310 

CAIRN  ON  BENNETT  ISLAND, 313 

SEAL  AND  SEAL-HOLE, .        .  314 

LAND-SLIDE  AT  BENNETT  ISLAND,   ....                .  315 


LIST   OP   ENGRAVINGS.  XV 

ARCTIC  DUCKS, 317 

LOG  CABIN    ON  THE  LENA, 319 

SIGHTING  THE  FIRST  NATIVES,* 321 

OUR  DEPARTURE  FROM  GEEMOVIALOCKE, 330 

YAKUT  HUNTER, 331 

GOOD-BYE   TO  BULUN? 333 

NOVEL  DESCENT  OF  THE  MOUNTAINS, 338 

REINDEER  TUNGUSES  AND  SUMMER  TENT, 340 

RUSSIAN  KIBITKA, 342 

RUSSIAN  PRIEST, 346 

SURVIVORS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION  AT  YAKUTSK — FROM  A  PHOTO- 
GRAPH,       347 

SUMMER  YOURT, 352 

JUMPING  CRADLE-HOLES, 354 

A  SIBERIAN  SPINNER, 356 

A  RUSSIAN  WEDDING  PARTY, 358 

A  SIBERIAN  TARANTASS, 359 

THE  GREAT  BELL  OF  Moscow, 363 

BOUNDARY  STONE  BETWEEN  EUROPE  AND  ASIA,   ....  365 

THE  RIFLE  IN  THE  SNOW, 369 

MELVILLE  DISCOVERING  DE  LONG  AND  HIS  COMPANIONS,     .        .  370 

THE   TOMB  ON    THE    LENA,           ........  371 

NEW-WORLD  POLAR  DRESS, 378 

A  TIME  OF  TROUBLE, 382 

"  SUCH  A  DREARY,   WRETCHED  NIGHT,"       .        .        .        .        .  3S5 

BURIAL  OF  ERICKSON  IN  THE  LENA, 387 

BURNING  OF  THE  RODGERS, 400 

RODGERS    SEAMEN   ATTEMPTING   TO  RESCUE  PUTNAM,       .           .           .  410 

CHUKCHE  COUNTRY  HARES, 415 

CHUKCHE  WOMAN  ANGLING, 416 

THE  STAROST  OF  THE  REINDEER  CHUKCHES,       .        .        .        .418 

A  CHUKCHE  DWELLING,    .        .        . 420 

INTERIOR  OF  TENT, 421 

MAN  AND  WOMAN  OF  TlAPKA, 425 

SEALS  SPORTING, 427 

CAPE  NORTH, 440 

BEAKER  SPONGES  FROM  SEA-BOTTOM  AT  MOUTH  OF  THE  KOLYMA,  445 

MAPS,  PLANS,  ETC. 

MAP  OF  EASTERN  SIBERIA,  SHOWING  EXPLORERS'  ROUTES,  .        .  16 

MAP  OF  THE  LENA  DELTA, 16 

PLANS  OF  THE  BOATS, -    ...  228 

WASSILI'S  CHART, 246 

PAC-SIMILE  OF  ENTERTAINMENT  PROGRAMME,         .        .        .       294,  295 

PLAN  OF  Da  LONG'S  LAST  CAMPING  PLACB,   ....  374 


36 


1 


1! 

il 

I 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE  JEANNETTE  AND  HER  CREW— THE  VOYAGE  TO  THE 
ARCTIC  OCEAN. 

THE  American  Arctic  Expedition,  commanded  by  Lieu- 
tenant George  W.  DeLong  of  the  United  States  Navy, 
which  left  San  Francisco,  July  8th,  1879,  was  projected  by 
James  Gordon  Bennett,  proprietor  of  the  New  York  Herald. 
After  the  return  of  the  last  of  the  two  successful  expeditions 
which  lie  had  sent  to  Africa  under  Henry  M.  Stanley,  Mr. 
Bennett  longed  for  new  worlds  to  conquer,  and  decided  to 
send  out,  at  his  own  expense,  an  expedition  to  attempt  to 
reach  the  North  Pole  by  way  of  Bering's  Straits.  Lieuten- 
ant DeLong  became  interested  in  the  undertaking,  and  the 
Pandora,  owned  by  Captain  Allan  Young,  was  selected  and 
bought  as  a  suitable  vessel  to  convey  the  explorers. 

The  Pandora  was  built  in  England  in  1862.  She  was  a 
bark-rigged  steam  yacht  of  420  tons  burden,  with  an  engine 
of  200  horse-power,  and  a  wide  spread  of  canvas.  She  was 
strongly  constructed,  and  had  seen  considerable  service  in 
the  northern  seas.  In  1873  she  conveyed  her  owner  to  the 
Arctic  regions  for  the  purpose  of  searching  for  records  of 
Sir  John  Franklin's  expedition  ;  and  in  1876  Captain  Young 
cruised  in  her  about  the  northern  part  of  Baffin's  Bay, — 
having  been  deputed  by  the  English  Admiralty  to  search 
for  Captain  Nare's  expedition. 

By  special  act  of  Congress  the  vessel  was  allowed  to  sail 

under  American  colors,  to  assume  a  new  name — the  Jean- 

nette — and  to  be  navigated  by  officers  of  the  United  States 

Navy,  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  government 

2 


18  THE    JE ANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

vessel.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  was  authorized  to  accept 
and  take  charge  of  the  ship  for  the  u§e  of  the  proposed 
expedition,  and  to  use  any  material  on  hand  in  fitting  her 
for  the  voyage;  but  upon  condition  that  the  Department 
should  not  be  subjected  to  any  expense  on  account  thereof. 

The  Jeannette  was  taken  from  Havre,  in  France,  through 
the  Straits  of  Magellan  to  San  Francisco,  by  Lieutenant 
DeLong,  with  Lieutenant  Danenhower  as  navigating  officer, 
and  there  delivered  to  the  naval  authorities  at  Mare  Island. 
After  a  thorough  examination  it  was  deemed  advisable,  on 
account  of  the  hazardous  nature  of  the  contemplated  voyage, 
that  her  capacity  to  resist  the  pressure  of  the  ice  should  be 
increased.  "This  conclusion,"  says  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  "  was  precautionary,  merely,  inasmuch  as  she  had 
been  well  constructed,  and  was  believed  to  possess  ordinary 
strength." 

A  large  amount  of  work  was  subsequently  done  upon  the 
ship  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Bennett.  She  was  furnished 
with  new  boilers ;  iron  box  beams  were  put  in  abaft  and 
forward  of  the  boilers  to  strengthen  her  sides ;  trusses  were 
strengthened  ;  additional  wooden  hooks  were  introduced  and 
fastened  through  and  through ;  her  extreme  fore  end,  to  the 
extent  of  about  ten  feet  from  the  spar  deck  down,  was  filled 
in  with  solid  timber  and  caulked;  additional  strakes  and 
planks  six  inches  thick  were  introduced  to  strengthen  her 
bilge ;  and  her  deck  frame  was  renewed  wherever  required. 
The  cabin  and  forecastle  were  padded  with  layers  of  felt  to 
keep  out  the  cold,  and  the  poop  deck  was  covered  with 
several  thicknesses  of  stout  painted  canvas.  Boats,  tents, 
extra  sails,  two  extra  propellers,  extra  pumps,  a  distilling 
apparatus,  a  hoisting  engine  rigged  on  the  spar  deck  to  be 
employed  in  warping,  all  kinds  of  machinery  that  might 
possibly  be  of  use,  and  everything  that  could  be  devised  to 
give  safety  to  the  explorers  and  efficiency  to  the  expedi- 
tion, were  provided.  The  vessel  was  fully  provisioned  and 
equipped  for  a  three  years'  voyage. 


OFFICERS    AND   MEN.  19 

The  following  letter  was  written  by  Lieutenant  DeLoiig 

just  before  the  expedition  started : — 

ARCTIC  STEAMER  JEANNETTE, 
SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  JULY  8th,  1879. 
Hon.  R.  W.  THOMPSON,  Secretary  of  the  Navy : — 

SIR^ — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  Jeannette, 
being  in  all  respects  ready  for  sea,  will  sail  at  three  o'clock 
this  afternoon  011  her  cruise  to  the  Arctic  regions. 

I  have  also  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
orders  of  the  18th  of  June  in  relation  to  the  movements  of 
the  Arctic  expedition  under  my  command ;  and  while  I 
appreciate  the  grave  responsibility  intrusted  to  my  care,  I 
beg  leave  to  assure  you  that  I  will  endeavor  to  perform  this 
important  duty  in  a  manner  calculated  to  reflect  credit  upon 
the  ship,  the  navy,  and  the  country  at  large. 

I  beg  leave  to  return  thanks  for  the  confidence  expressed 
in  my  ability  to  satisfactorily  conduct  such  a  hazardous 
expedition,  and  I  desire  to  place  upon  record  my  conviction 
that  nothing  has  been  left  unprovided  which  the  enterprise 
and  liberality  of  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett  and  the  experi- 
ences of  our  Arctic  predecessors  could  suggest. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  W.  DELONG, 
Lieutenant  United  States  Navy,  commanding  Arctic  steamer 

Jeannette. 
The  officers  and  crew  of  the  Jeannette  were  as  follows : — 

Lieutenant  George  W.  DeLong,  U.  S.  N.,  Commander. 

Lieutenant  Charles  W.  Chipp,  U.  S.  K,  Executive  Officer. 

Lieutenant  John  W.  Danenhower,  U.  S.  N.,  Navigator. 

George  W.  Melville,  Chief  Engineer.     J.  M.  Ambler,  Surgeon. 

Jerome  J.  Collins,  Meteorologist.     Raymond  L.  Newcomb,  Naturalist. 

William  M.  Dunbar,  ice  Pilot.  James  H.  Bartlett,  First-class  Fire- 
man. John  Cole,  Boatswain.  Walter  Lee.  Machinist.  Alfred  Sweet- 
man,  Carpenter.  George  Lauderback,  Walter  Sharvell,  Firemen. 

George  W.  Boyd,  Adolf  Dressier,    Hans  IT.  Erickson,  Carl  A.  Gortz, 
Nelse  Iverson,  Peter  E.  Johnson,  George  H.  Kuehne,  Henry  II.  Kaack, 
Herbert  W.  Leach,   Frank  Mansen,.Wm.  F.  C.  Nindermann,  Louis  J. 
Noros,  Edward  Star,  Henry  D.  Warren,  Henry  Wilson,  Seamen. 
.     Ah  Sam,  and  Charles  Ton**  Sing  (Chinese),  Cook  and  Cabin  Stewards. 


20  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Lieutenants  DeLong  and  Chipp  were  officers  of  the  U.  S. 
steamer  Juniata  on  her  northern  cruise  in  search  of  the 
crew  of  the  lost  Polaris.  Mr.  Melville  was  engineer  of  tho 
steamer  Tigress  when  she  went  north  on  the  same  errand. 
All  of  the  crew  were  volunteers,  selected  with  great  care 
from  many  applicants.  Ninderman  was  a  member  of  the 
Polaris  ice-drift  party. 

A  complimentary  reception  was  given  by  the  California 
Academy  of  Sciences  to  the  officers  of  the  Jeannette,  a  few 
days  before  their  departure.  The  meeting  was  largely  at- 
tended, and  many  eminent  scientists  of  the  Pacific  coast  were 
present.  In  response  to'  an  invitation  to  address  the  audi- 
ence, Lieutenant  DoLong  spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  When  the  officers  of  the  expedition  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  command  were  invited  to  be  present  this  evening 
to  listen  to  the  discussion  of  the  Arctic  problem,  I  replied  for 
them  and  myself  that  nothing  would  give  us  greater  pleas- 
ure than  to  be  present.  At  the  same  time,  however,  I  asked 
that  we  might  be  excused  from  any  active  participation  in  the 
discussion  until  after  our  return  from  within  the  Arctic  circle. 
This  humble  peculiarity  of  ours,  it  would  seem,  is  not  to  be 
tolerated  ;  and  however  unfit  I  am  to  reply  with  any  degree 
of  propriety  to  the  very  kind  remarks  that  have  been  made 
to  us  this  evening,  it  seems  that  it  is  one  of  the  duties  that 
is  forced  upon  the  commander  of  the  expedition,  as  well  as 
a  great  many  other  duties.  As  far  as  this  part  of  the  expe- 
dition is  concerned,  there  is  really  very  little  to  say.  By  the 
act  of  Congress  it  has  been  placed  under  the  charge  of  naval 
officers,  and  it  has,  since  the  passage  of  tho  act  of  Congress, 
received  the  fostering  care  and  encouragement  of  the  Navy 
Department.  It  is  peculiar  as  being  the  first  expedition  fitted 
out  to  penetrate  the  highest  regions  of  the  north  by  way  of  Ber- 
ing's Straits.  Ships  have  heretofore  passed  through  Bering's 
Straits,  rounding  Point  Barrow,  and  going  to  the  northward 
to  rescue  and  relieve  Sir  John  Franklin  ;  but  this  is  the  first 
purely  polar  expedition  that  has  ever  been  despatched  by 
way  of  Bering's  Straits. 


LIEUTENANT   DELONG'S   SPEECH.  21 

"  I  dare  say  that  after  we  have  left  San  Francisco,  in  our 
passage  to  the  northern  seas,  we  shall  experience  very  much 
the  same  difficulties  and  hardships  and  trials  that  have  been 
experienced  by  everybody  who  has  gone  before  us.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  difficult  things  —  in  fact,  it  is  an  impossible 
thing  —  for  one  starting  out  on  an  expedition  of  this  kind  to 
say  in  advance  what  he  is  going  to  do.  The  ground  which 
we  are  going  to  traverse  is  "an  entirely  new  one.  After 
reaching  the  seventy-first  parallel  of  latitude  we  go  out  into 
a  great  blank  space,  which  we  are  going  to  endeavor  to  de- 
lineate and  to  determine  whether  it  is  water  or  land  or  ice. 
You  will  excuse  me,  therefore,  from  attempting  to  explain 
what  we  are  going  to  do.  If  you  will  be  kind  enough  to  keep 
us  in  memory  while  we  are  gone  we  will  attempt  to  tell  you 
what  we  have  done  on  our  return,  which,  I  dare  say,  will  be 
more  interesting  than  attempting  to  tell  you  what  we  hope 
to  do.  I  can  only  return  to  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the 
kind  reception  you  have  given  us  and  for  the  interest  you 
manifest  in  our  peculiar  undertaking." 

On  the  30th  of  June  the  San  Francisco  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, specially  convened  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  the 
deep  interest  felt  in  the  expedition  by  that  body,  adopted 
the  following  resolutions  :  — 

"  Whereas  the  San  Francisco  Chamber  of  Commerce  is 
desirous  of  expressing  its  deep  interest  and  good-will  toward 
all  measures  calculated  to  forward  and  extend  any  scientific 
explorations  likely  to  benefit  the  commerce,  navigation,  or 
agricultural  interests  of  our  country ;  therefore,  on  behalf  of 
the  mercantile  industry  of  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  be  it 

"Resolved:  That  we  earnestly  offer  our  cheering  words  of 
hearty  approval  to  encourage  the  well-planned  American 
Arctic  expedition  about  to  prosecute  from  our  Pacific  coast  a 
continuance  of  that  noble  work  of  polar  exploration  so  gal- 
lantly inaugurated  and  fearlessly  advanced  by  the  nations 
bordering  on  the  Atlantic.  On  behalf  of  our  city,  as  a  future 


22  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

seat  of  national  wealth  and  extended  commerce,  we  desire  to 
foster  scientific  enlightenment ;  and  this  Chamber  views  with 
marked  interest  an  enterprise  of  national  importance,  sailing 
from  its  Golden  Gate,  fully  equipped  with  a  picked  band  of 
brave  and  resolute  men  possessed  of  Arctic  experience,  whom 
we  feel  are  capable  of  winning  a  successful  and  glorious  rec- 
ord for  the  nation  whose  banner  floats  over  them,  and  whose 
blessing  goes  with  them.  While  recognizing  with  admiration 
the  fact  that  this  expedition  is  wholly  paid  for  and  supported 
by  private  munificence,  we  rejoice  that  this  enterprise  is  offi- 
cially endorsed  by  the  United  States  government,  who  accord 
it  the  national  rights  necessary  to  proper  discipline,  and  the 
suitable  dignity  intrusted  by  a  great  and  growing  nation 
whose  knowledge  it  will  increase,  and  to  whose  honor  it  will 
redound.  Asa  national  work  it  will  extend  the  geograph- 
ical survey  and  topographical  knowledge  of  our  northern 
boundary  ;  in  the  interests  of  commerce,  navigation,  and  na- 
tional agriculture  it  may  determine  laws  of  meteorology, 
hydrography,  astronomy,  and  gravitation,  reveal  ocean  cur- 
rents, develop  new  fisheries,  discover  lands  and  people  hith- 
erto unknown ;  and  by  extending  the  world's  knowledge  of 
such  fundamental  principles  of  earth-life  as  magnetism  and 
electricity,  and  various  collateral  branches  of  atmospheric 
science,  solve  great  problems  important  to  our  common 
humanity. 

"Resolved :  That  as  the  well-merited  offering  of  an  appecia- 
tive  nation,  our  people  would  most  heartily  approve  of  and 
endorse  the  use  of  a  national  vessel  to  convoy  the  Jeannette 
to  her  most  northern  port  of  departure,  whence,  leaving  the 
shores  of  solemn  pine,  she  will  traverse  the  northern  seas 
alone,  followed  by  the  earnest  hopes  of  friends  to  progress 
and  the  world  of  science. 

"Resolved :  That  we  tender  to  her  brave  and  accomplished 
commander,  Lieutenant  George  W.  DeLong,  United  States 
Navy,  to  his  efficient  staff  of  able  specialists  in  various  de- 
partments of  science,  and  to  his  hardy  and  gallant  crew,  one 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SAN  FRANCISCO.  23 

and  all,  our  hearty  good  wishes  for  their  safe  return,  and 
for  the  entire  success  of  the  American  Arctic  Expedition  from 
the  Pacific," 

The  departure  of  the  Jeannette  from  San  Francisco,  on 
the  8th  of  July,  1879,  was  a  notable  event  in  the  history  of 
that  city.  As  the  vessel  moved  slowly  toward  the  Golden 
Gate,  the  friendly  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefs  from 
the  wharves,  the  shipping,  and  Telegraph  Hill,  told  the  ex- 
plorers that  the  good  people  of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  men 
of  the  sea,  were  giving  them  a  hearty  send-off.  A  salute  of 
ten  guns  fired  from  Fort  Point  greeted  them  at  the  Narrows, 
and  several  steamboats  crowded  with  spectators,  and  the 
white-sailed  craft  of  the  San  Francisco  Yacht  Club  convoyed 
the  Jeannette  till  she  was  out  on  the  bosom  of  the  broad  Pa- 
cific, and  fairly  started  on  her  voyage  to  the  unknown  north. 
Mrs.  DeLong,  the  devoted  wife  of  the  commander,  remained 
on  her  husband's  ship  till  the  last  mo'ment,  and  received  his 
parting  farewell  as  he  assisted  her  from  the  Jeannette's  boat 
to  the  deck  of  the  last  returning  craft. 

The  Jeannette  proceeded  direct  to  Otmalaska,  one  of  the 
Aleutian  Islands,  and  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Illiouliouk, 
August  2d.  This  place  is  the  headquarters  of  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company,  and  its  agent  'and  other  officials 
showed  the  explorers  much  kindness  and  attention.  Addi- 
tional stores  and  supplies  of  coal  and  fur  from  the  store- 
houses of  the  company  were  taken  on  board. 

On  the  6th  of  August  the  Jeannette  resumed  her  course, 
and  on  the  12th  of  August  anchored  opposite  the  little  set- 
tlement and  blockhouse  known  by  Americans  as  St.  Michael's, 
Alaska,  and  by  Russians  as  Michaelovski.  The  explorers 
were  welcomed  by  Mr.  Newmann,  agent  of  the  Alaska  Com-, 
mercial  Company,  and  by  Mr.  Nelson,  an  employee  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  and  observer  of  the  U.  S.  Signal  Ser- 
vice, who  were  philosophical  enough  to  live  contentedly  in 
that  isolated  place.  A  drove  of  about  forty  trained  dogs, 
three  dog-sleds,  and  fur  clothing  were  here  taken  on  board 


24  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

ship,  and  two  native  Alaskans,  named  Anequin  and  Alexai, 
were  hired  to  accompany  the  expedition  as  dog  drivers  and 
hunters.  Alexai  was  a  married  man,  and  both  could  speak 
a  little  English. 

"  Mrs.  Alexai,"  wrote  Mr.  Collins,  "  a  chubby-faced,  shy, 
but  good-humored  looking  young  female,  came  on  board 
to  see  her  husband  off  on  his  long  cruise.  She  behaved  with 
great  propriety  under  the  circumstances.  Alexai  behaved 
also  with  stolidity  tempered  by  affection  for  his  spouse. 


THE  LAST  INTERVIEW. 

They  sat  together,  hand  in  hand,  on  some  bags  of  potatoes 
near  the  cabin-door,  and  probably  exchanged  vows  of  eternal 
fidelity.  I  was  greatly  touched,  and  got  up  on  the  bridge 
with  my  sketch-block,  on  which  I  outlined  their  figures.  I 
had  to  take  them  as  they  sat  with  backs  toward  me,  for  Mrs. 
Alexai  was  too  modest  to  face  the  pencil.  Before  leaving 
the  ship  Captain  DeLong  gave  the  bereaved  one  a  cup  and 
saucer  with  gilt  letters  on  it.  She  seemed  overpowered  with 


LAST  WORDS   FROM  THE  EXPLORERS.  25 

emotion  at  the  possession  of  such  unique  treasures,  and  at 
once  hid  them  in  the  ample  folds,  or  rather  stowage-places, 
of  her  fur  dress." 

On  the  18th  of  August  the  schooner  Fanny  A.  Hyde,  con- 
veying coal  and  extra  stores  for  the  expedition,  arrived  from 
San  Francisco,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  21st  both  vessels 
resumed  the  voyage  northward.  As  they  started  out,  the 
guns  at  the  old  Russian  fort  and  at  the  Agency  of  the  Wes- 
tern Fur  and  Trading  Company  belched  forth  a  parting 
salute. 

On  the  25th  the  Jeannette  arrived  at  St.  Lawrence  Bay, 
East  Siberia,  some  thirty  miles  south  of  East  Cape,  where 
DeLong  learned  from  the  natives  that  a  steamer,  supposed  to 
be  the  Vega,  had  gone  south.  The  schooner  arrived  the 
next  day,  and  her  stores  were  transferred  to  the  Jeannette. 
In  a  letter  dated  August  26th,  Engineer  Melville  wrote  home 
as  follows  : — 

"  We  did  not  send  our  convoy  back  from  St.  Michael's 
as  we  expected,  because  we  were  too  deeply  laden  already 
to  take  on  our  stores.  It  was  very  fortunate  for  us  we  had  her 
to  carry  our  extra  coal  and  stores  over  here,  for  on  the  way 
we  were  caught  in  a  terrible  gale  of  wind,  and,  owing  to  the 
condition  of  the  ship,  and  deeply  laden  as  we  were,  the  sea 
had  a  clean  sweep  over  us.  It  stove  in  our  forward  parts., 
carried  away  the  bridge,  caved  the  bulkheads,  and  in  fact 
just  drowned  us  out.  Had  we  the  other  stuff  on  board  we 
must  have  foundered,  or  else  got  it  overboard  in  time.  We 
leave  here  for  East  Cape  to-day,  having  taken  on  board  all 
our  stores,  and  we  are  in  even  much  worse  sea-condition 
than  we  were  before  ;  but  we  think  that  maybe,  when  we  get 
into  the  ice  where  the  wind  can't  raise  a  sea,  we  will  be  all 
right." 

From  St.  Lawrence  Bay  the  Jeannette  continued  her  jour- 
ney alone.  Just  before  starting,  Mr.  Collins,  as  special 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald,  wrote  to  that  journal 
as  follows: — 


26  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

"  All  before  us  now  is  uncertainty,  because  our  movements 
will  be  governed  by  circumstances  over  which  we  can  have 
no  control.  If,  as  I  telegraphed,  the  search  for  Nordenskiold 
is  now  needless,  we  will  try  and  reach  Wrangel  Land,  and 
find  a  winter  harbor  on  that  new  land,  on  which,  we  believe, 
the  white  man  has  not  yet  put  his  foot.  At  the  worst,  we 
may  winter  in  Siberia,  and  '  go  for  '  the  Wrangel  Land  mys- 
tery next  spring.  I  am  in  great  hopes  we  will  reach  there 
this  season. 

"  We  are  amply  supplied  with  fur  clothing  and  provisions, 
so  that  we  can  feed  and  keep  warm  in  any  event  for  some 
time.  Our  dogs  will  enable  us  to  make  explorations  to  con- 
siderable distances  from  the  ship  and  determine  the  charac- 
ter of  the  country.  Feeling  that  we  have  the  sympathy  of 
all  we  left  at  home,  we  go  north,  trusting  in  God's  protection 
and  our  good  fortune.  Farewell." 

After  rounding  East  Cape,  Lieutenant  DeLong  touched  at 
Cape  Serdze,  on  the  northeast  coast  of  Siberia,  and  left  his 
last  letter  home.  It  was  dated  August  29th,  and  reached 
Mrs.  DeLong  over  a  year  afterward.  In  this  letter  lie  ex- 
pressed his  intention  of  proceeding  to  the  southern  end  of 
Wrangel  Land,  touching  on  the  way,  if  practicable,  at  Kol- 
yutschin  Bay,  where  the  natives  informed  him  Nordenskiold 
had  wintered.  "  If,"  he  wrote  (referring  to  the  probability 
that  a  ship  would  be  sent  to  obtain  intelligence  of  him  the 
following  year),  "the  ship  comes  up  merely  for  tidings  of  us, 
let  her  look  for  them  on  the  east  side  of  Kellet  Land  and  on 
Herald  Island." 

On  the  2d  of  September,  1879,  when  about  fifty  miles  or 
so  south  of  Herald  Island,  Captain  Barnes,  of  the  American 
whale-bark  Sea  Breeze,  saw  the  Jeannette  under  full  sail 
and  steam,  and  attempted  to  communicate  with  her,  but  both 
vessels  were  in  heavy  ice,  and  a  dense  fog  was  setting  in, 
which  prevailed  up  to  the  following  day.  These  vessels, 
having  approached  to  within  less  than  four  miles  of  each 
other,  held  their  courses  without  communication.  On  the 


NORTHWARD    HO  !  2T 

following  day,  September  3d,  1879,  Captain  Kelley,  of  the  bark 
Dawn,  Captain  Bauldry,  of  the  Helen  Mar,  and  several  oth- 
ers of  the  whaling  fleet,  then  somewhat  northward  of  the 
Sea  Breeze,  saw  smoke  issuing  from  a  steamer's  smoke-stack, 
in  range  of  Herald  Island.  The  Jeannette,  having  pressed 
forward,  was  hull  down  north  of  these  whalers ;  hence  they 
only  saw  her  black  smoke.  She  was  standing  north.  The 
weather  was  quite  clear  at  this  time.  These  were  the  last 
tidings  of  the  Jeannette,  or  any  of  her  crew,  received  for 
over  two  years. 

Lieutenant  DeLong's  plans  were  to  reach  Wrangel  Land 
the  first  season,  spend  the  winter  in  exploration  there,  and 
then  to  push  on  northwardly  as  far  aS  possible.  "  I  shall 
go,"  he  said,  before  starting,  "  to  the  extreme  limit  of  possi- 
ble navigation  that  I  am  able  to  attain.  If  the  current  takes 
me  to  the  west,  you  will  hear  of  me  through  St.  Petersburg ; 
but  if  it  takes  me  eastward  and  northward,  there  is  no  say- 
ing what  points  I  may  reach ;  but  I  hope  to  come  out 
through  Smith's  or  Jones's  Sound." 

From  Ounalaska  Lieutenant  DeLong  sent  to  his  friend, 
Lieutenant  Jacques,  a  long  letter,  teeming  with  the  interest 
and  enthusiasm  his  great  work  had  inspired.  "  We  are 
started,"  he  wrote,  "  and  we  shall  try  to  do  our  best.  We 
have  a  good,  solid  ship,  and  everything  that  money  and  ex- 
perience could  provide.  We  go  to  Ounalaska,  thence  to  St. 
Paul's  Island,  thence  to  St.  Michael's,  and  thence  to  as  high 
a  latitude  as  God  will  let  us  reach  in  two  years  —  keeping 
the  third  year  in  reserve  to  get  back.  Keep  us  in  mind,  old 
fellow,  and  pray  for  my  success,  for  my  heart  is  set  on  this 
thing.  Ninderman  is  with  me,  and  keeps  the  bridge  watch. 
Have  a  good  time,  and  be  careful  of  your  health,  and  I  pray 
God  to  bless  you." 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  SEARCH  FOR  MISSING  WHALERS  AND  THE  JEANNETTE. 
(CRUISE  OF  THE  CORWIN,  1880.) 

IN  the  autumn  of  1879,  two  whaling  ships,  the  Mt.  Wol- 
laston,  commanded  by  Captain  Nye,  and  the  Vigilant — 
which,  with  a  score  of  others,  left  San  Francisco  in  the 
spring — failed  to  return,  and  were  reported  as  having  been 
seen  entangled  in  the  ice  by  Captain  Bauldry,  whose  bark, 
the  Helen  Mar,  was  the  last  to  get  away.  Another  vessel, 
the  Mercury,  was  also  caught  in  the  ice,  and  her  crew  were 
rescued  by  the  Helen  Mar. 

Tempted  by  favorable  weather  and  the  hope  of  success  in 
catching  whales,  these  vessels  had  prolonged  their  stay  in 
the  Arctic  Sea  till  after  the  middle  of  October,  and  Captain 
Bauldry  escaped  with  difficulty,  forcing  a  passage  through 
the  new  ice  which  formed  rapidly  around  him.  A  sudden 
change  of  wind  drove  the  missing  whalers  northwesterly 
into  open  water,  while  a  heavy  body  of  ice  south  of  them 
prevented  all  escape.  Their  crews  numbered  about  twenty 
men  each,  and  the  desperate  condition  in  which  they  were 
placed  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  during  the  eight 
previous  years  no  less  than  thirty-three  vessels,  out  of  the 
small  fleet  there  engaged  in  whaling,  had  been  caught  in  the 
pack  and  drifted  to  the  northeast,  carrying  with  them  sixty 
men  who  had  remained  by  their  ships  in  the  vain  hope  of 
saving  them,  and  of  whom  nothing  has  since  been  heard. 
During  the  same  period,  over  thirty  other  whalers  of  the 
same  fleet  had  also  been  crushed  or  otherwise  wrecked. 

The  following  reminiscence  of  Captain  Nye  is  furnished 
by  Mr.  William  Bradford,  the  eminent  marine  artist : — 

(28) 


REMINISCENCE   OP   CAPTAIN    NYE.  29 

"A  short  time  before  Lieutenant  DeLong's  departure  I 
suggested  to  him  that  we  call  together  all  the  whaling  cap- 
tains then  in  port — most  of  whom  I  knew  well  personally — 
and  avail  ourselves  of  whatever  information  their  experience 
might  afford  and 'suggestions  they  might  have  to  make.  He 
accepted  the  idea  and  arranged  the  meeting,  and  they  all 
attended.  One  by  one  they  gave  their  opinions,  mainly  upon 
the  point  of  their  greatest  interest,  the  probable  direction  of 
the  winds  and  currents  at  the  time  when  Lieutenant  DeLong 
expected  to  reach  Wrangel  Land.  But  there  was  one  among 
them  who  kept  ominously  silent,  not  venturing  an  opinion  or 
offering  a  suggestion.  I  finally  said  :  '  Captain  Nye  has  not 
given  us  his  opinion,  and  we  would  like  to  hear  from  him.' 
He  said  :  4  Gentlemen,  there  isn't  much  to  be  said  about  this 
matter.  You,  Lieutenant  DeLong,  have  a  very  strong  vessel, 
have  you  not  ?  Magnificently  equipped  for  the  service,  with 
unexceptionable  crew  and  aids  ?  And  you  will  take  plenty 
of  provisions,  and  all  the  coal  you  can  carry?'  To  each  of 
these  questions,  as  it  was  asked,  Lieutenant  DeLong  replied 
affirmatively.  4  Then,'  said  Captain  Nyc,  '  put  her  into  the 
ice  and  let  her  drift,  and  you  may  get  through  or  you  may 
go  to  the  devil,  and  the  chances  are  about  equal.'  Poor 
Captain  Nye !  He  ventured  in  there  after  Lieutenant  DeLong 
— into  those  same  Arctic  regions,  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
enterprise  as  a  whaler — and  was  never  heard  of  again.  He 
was  from  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  was  one  of  the  oldest,  bravest, 
and  best  men  in  the  service,  and  there  was  no  man  sailing 
to  the  frigid  seas  who  knew  more  of  their  perils  than  he  who 
made  that  ominous  forecast  of  the  probable  fate  of  the  Jean- 
nette,  if  not  of  her  commander." 

Much  anxiety  for  the  missing  barks  was  felt  in  San 
Francisco,  and  merchants  and  citizens  of  that  city  petitioned 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  send  out  a  government  vessel 
to  search  for  the  whalers,  and  also  for  the  Jcannette,  as  in 
the  opinion  of  returned  whalemen  Captain  DeLong  had  not 
succeeded  in  reaching  Wrangel  Land  when  winter  set  in. 

Subsequently,  Captain  C.  L.  Hooper,  of  the  revenue  cutter 


30  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Corwin,  was  ordered  on  a  trip  northward  to  search  .for 
tidings  of  the  missing  vessels.  He  was  also  instructed  to 
cruise  in  the  waters  of  Alaska  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
revenue  laws,  to  visit  St.  Lawrence  Island,  where  many 
natives  had  died  of  starvation,  and  to  endeavor  to  suppress 
the  traffic  in  whiskey,  which  was  the  principal  cause  of  so 
much  misery. 

Captain  Hooper  sailed  from  San  Francisco,  on  his  mission 
of  good-will,  May  22d,  1880.  After  touching  at  Ounalaska, 
June  9th,  the  Corwin  met  heavy  ice  pitching  and  grinding 
along  the  edge  of  the  pack,  and  found  refuge  in  a  good 
harbor  on  the  north  coast  of  Nunivak  Island,  off  a  native 
settlement. 

"  The  inhabitants/'  says  Captain  Hooper,  "  all  ran  away 
to  the  hills  as  we  approached,  but  on  the  next  day  we  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  them — one  man,  three  women,  and  three 
children.  They  were  very  much  alarmed,  and  evidently 
thought  they  were  to  be  killed.  A  present  of  some  tobacco 
soon  quieted  their  fears,  and  the  man  was  persuaded  to 
come  on  board,  and  seemed  very  much  interested  in  all  he 
saw.  A  looking-glass  astonished  him  more  than  all  the 
rest.  At  first  lie  was  alarmed  at  it,  and  then,  after  over- 
coming his  fears,  was  greatly  amused.  He  did  not  know 
the  taste  of  brandy  or  whiskey,  and  when  offered  some 
made  a  wry  face  and  spat  it  out  in  evident  disgust.  Hav- 
ing lived  away  from  civilization,  his  tastes  had  not  been 
educated  to  such  a  degree.  He  put  his  hands  upon  the 
stove,  and  seemed  astonished  that  it  burned  him,  and  even 
tried  it  a  second  time  to  make  sure.  The  houses  of  the 
settlement,  ten  in  number,  were  built  of  mud  and  all  con- 
nected by  a  subterranean  passage.  They  were  arranged  in 
a  circle,  with  a  common  entrance  to  the  passage  in  the 
center." 

Following  the  track  of  the  Jeannette,  Captain  Hooper 
next  visited  St.  Michaels,  June  22d,  where  he  met  Messrs. 
Newman  and  Nelson,  two  Americans  residing  there.  "  These 
gentlemen,"  wrote  Hooper,  "  live  quite  comfortably.  They 


THE   CORWIN   AT   ST.  MICHAELS.  31 

have  about  a  dozen  log-houses,  which  they  use  for  dwellings 
and  storehouses,  enclosed  in  a  stockade.  Some  of  the  more 
civilized  natives  are  employed  as  domestics.  An  Indian 
village  about  half  a  mile  from  the  trading-post  consists  of 
about  thirty  houses  and  a  dance-house.  These  houses  con- 
tain two  rooms.  The  first,  or  outer  one,  is  built  half  under 
ground  and  has  a  frame  roof  covered  with  earth.  The  inner 
room  is  entirely  under  ground,  and  is  reached  through  a 
small  opening  in  the  back  of  the  front  room.  These  natives 
are  a  lazy,  worthless  people.  The  only  sign  of  civilization 
noticeable  among  them  is  their  fondness  for  whiskey  and 
tobacco." 

Two  weeks  later  Captain  Hooper  again  visited  St.  Michaels, 
and  found  the  place  much  changed  in  appearance.  The 
snow  and  ice  were  all  gone,  the  hillsides  were  covered  with 
wild  flowers,  and  the  air  was  thick  with  mosquitoes.  The 
traders  of  the  two  companies  located  here  had  also  arrived 
from  the  different  trading-posts  of  the  interior,  some  of 
which  are  2,000  miles  from  the  coast.  These  traders  come 
to  St.  Michaels  every  spring  as  soon  as  the  ice  leaves  the 
rivers ;  they  bring  in  the  furs  purchased  during  the  winter, 
get  a  new  supply  of  trade  goods,  and  return  apparently 
satisfied  with  their  lot. 

"I  was,"  says  Captain  Hooper,  "particularly  impressed 
with  the  fine  physique  of  the  Indians  whom  they  brought 
down  with  them.  They  are  very  much  superior  to  the  coast 
Indians,  resembling  more  in  appearance  the  Indians  seen  on 
the  plains,  having  piercing  black  eyes,  long,  muscular  limbs, 
and  erect  figures,  showing  courage,  strength,  and  endurance. 

"  These  Indians  live  by  hunting  bears,  moose,  wolves,  and 
reindeer,  and  trap  mink  and  foxes.  In  the  summer  they 
hunt  with  guns ;  in  the  winter,  when  game  cannot  run  fast 
on  account  of  the  snow,  the  bow  and  arrow  are  used.  Black 
bears  are  killed  with  a  knife  or  spear.  It  is  considered  dis- 
graceful to  shoot  them.  When  an  Indian  meets  a  black  bear, 
he  approaches  within  a  few  feet ;  the  bear  stops,  faces  him, 
and  rises  on  his  haunches,  prepared  to  give  him  a  hug.  The 


32  THE  JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Indian  then  draws  his  knife  with  great  deliberation,  and  ad- 
dressing the  bear  says :  '  I  know  you  are  not  afraid ;  but 
neither  am  I.  I  am  as  brave  as  you  arc.'  Then  advancing 
cautiously,  he  improves  the  first  opportunity  when  Bruin  is 
off  his  guard  to  give  him  a  thrust  with  the  knife  in  a  vital 
spot,  and  the  savage  has  one  more  deed  of  valor  to  boast  of 
to  his  friends  when  they  gather  in  their  dance-house  to 
'ung-to-ah,' — a  ceremony  which  consists  of  dancing  around 
the  fire  and  relating,  in  a  kind  of  song  or  chant,  to  the  music 
of  a  drum,  their  deeds  of  daring  in  the  past,  and  indulging 
in  promises  of  still  more  glorious  ones  in  the  future. 

"  The  result  of  the  conflict,  however,  is  not  always  entirely 
in  the  Indian's  favor;  the  bear  sometimes  gets  the  best  of  it, 
and  handles  the  savage  very  roughly.  We  saw  several 
natives  who  bore  the  marks  of  very  severe  scalp  wounds  re- 
ceived in  encounters  with  bears." 

After  his  first  visit  to  St.  Michaels,  Captain  Hooper 
steamed  westward  to  St.  Lawrence  Island,  to  investigate  the 
reported  wholesale  starvation  of  the  natives  during  the  two 
or  three  preceding  winters. 

"  We  stopped,"  he  says,  "  off  the  first  village,  about  mid- 
night of  June  25th,  and  found  the  village  entirely  deserted, 
with  sleds,  boat-frames,  paddles,  spears,  bows  and  arrows, 
etc.,  strewn  in  every  direction.  We  found  no  dead  bodies, 
probably  missed  them  in  the  faint  twilight,  as  we  subsequently 
learned  at  the  west  end  of  the  island  that  they  had  all  died. 
From  the  number  of  houses,  boats,  etc.,  we  estimated  the 
number  of  those  who  had  died  to  be  about  fifty. 

"  On  the  26th  we  followed  along  the  north  side  of  the 
island,  examining  the  villages  as  we  came  to  them.  At  Cape 
Siepermo  we  found  the  village  deserted,  not  a  sign  of  life  re- 
maining. I  counted  fifty-four  dead  bodies,  and  as  these  were 
nearly  all  full-grown  males,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many 
more  died.  The  women  and  children  doubtless  died  first, 
and  were  buried.  Most  of  those  seen  were  just  outside  the 
village,  with  their  sleds  beside  them,  evidently  having  been 
dragged  out  by  the  survivors,  as  they  died,  until  they,  becom- 


THE  STARVED   ISLANDERS.  33 

ing  too  weak  for  further  exertion,  went  into  their  houses 
and,  covering*  themselves  with  skins,  lay  down  and  died.  In 
many  of  the  houses  we  saw  from  one  to  four  dead  bodies. 

"  About  fifteen  miles  west  of  Cape  Siepermo  we  found 
another  village,  also  entirely  deserted.  Here  we  saw  twelve 
dead  bodies,  all  full-grown  males.  As  at  the  other  villages, 
the  women  and  children  had  probably  been  buried,  as  we 
saw  none.  The  number  of  dead  at  this  place  was  estimated 
at  thirty.  At  a  large  settlement  on  the  northwest  end  of  the 
island,  which  we  next  visited,  we  found  about  three  hundred 
natives  alive.  Two  hundred  had  died,  and  the  entire  popu- 
lation had  barely  escaped  starvation  by  eating  their  dogs  and 
the  walrus-hides  covering  their  boats  and  houses.  At  a  set- 
tlement on  the  northwest  end  the  natives  said  a  large  num- 
ber had  died,  but  how  many  they  could  not  tell.  They  said 
the  weather  was  cold  and  stormy  for  a  long  time,  with  great 
quantities  of  ice  and  snow,  so  that  they  could  not  hunt  wal- 
rus and  seal;  and  as  they  make  no  provision  for  the  future, 
but  depend  upon  what  they  can  get  from  day  to  day,  of 
course  failure  means  starvation. 

"  These  people  live  directly  in  the  track  of  vessels  bound 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean  for  the  purpose  of  whaling  or  trading. 
They  make  houses,  boats,  clothing,  etc.,  of  the  skins  of  wal- 
rus and  seals,  and  sell  the  bones  and  ivory  to  traders  for  rum 
and  breech-loading  arms.  As  long  as  the  rum  lasts  they  do 
nothing  but  drink  and  fight.  They  had  a  few  furs,  some  of 
which  we  tried  to  buy  to  make  Arctic  clothing ;  but,  notwith- 
standing their  terrible  experience  in  the  past,  they  refused  to 
sell  for  anything  but  whiskey,  rifles,  or  cartridges." 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  Captain  Hooper  succeeded  in 
capturing  two  whiskey-trading  schooners,  and  that  they  were 
dealt  with  according  to  law. 

The  season  for  northern  search  having  now  arrived,  Cap- 
tain Hooper  passed  through  Bering's  Straits  into  the  Arctic 
Sea,  and  made  five  distinct  attempts  to  reach  high  latitude, 
but  without  extraordinary  success.  On  the  20th  of  August 
3 


84  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

he  was  within  three  miles  of  Herald  Island,  and  on  the  llth 
of  September  he  was  within  twenty-five  miles  of  Wrangel 
Land ;  but  even  these  positions  were  only  attained  after 
steaming  long  distances  through  labyrinthian  lanes,  and 
coming  in  contact  with  large  bodies  of  floating  ice. 

The  Corwin  sailed  hither  and  thither,  across  the  open  por- 
tions of  the  Arctic  basin,  and  much  interesting  information 
relating  to  the  native  tribes,  natural  history,  and  geology  of 
the  region  was  gathered ;  but  no  trace  of  the  Jeannette  or 
missing  whalers  was  found,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Arctic 
summer  the  Corwin  returned  to  San  Francisco. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  Captain  Hooper's  account 
of  his  voyage  : — 

"In  that  part  of  the  Arctic  visited  by  the  Corwin  the  ice 
is  quite  different  from  the  ice  in  the  vicinity  of  Greenland. 
No  immense  icebergs  raise  their  frozen  peaks  hundreds  of 
feet  in  the  air.  The  highest  ice  seen  by  us  during  the  sea- 
son would  not  exceed  fifty  feet  in  height.  The  average 
height  of  the  main  pack  is  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet,  with 
hummocks  that  rise  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  The  specific 
gravity  of  sea  ice  is  91 ;  hence  only  about  a  tenth  is  visible 
above  the  surface  of  the  water.  A  field  of  twenty  feet  in 
height  may  have  a  depth  of  nearly  two  hundred  feet.  This 
enormous  thickness  is  caused  by  one  layer  of  ice  being 
forced  upon  another  by  the  action  of  wind  and  current.  Tho 
greatest  thickness  it  attains  by  freezing  is  about  eighteen 
feet.  At  that  depth  ice  ceases  to  be  a  conductor  of  tem- 
perature. 

"Along  the  edge  of  the  pack,  during  the  summer,  is  gen- 
erally found  a  belt  of  drift  ice  varying  in  width  according  to 
the  direction  of  the  wind.  When  the  wind  blows  off  the 
pack,  drift  ice  is  frequently  found  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
from  the  main  body.  At  times  the  pack  itself  opens  in 
leads,  by  which  it  may  be  penetrated  for  several  miles.  In 
venturing  within  the  limits  of  the  pack,  however,  a  sharp 
watch  must  be  kept  on  the  movements  of  the  ice,  and  a  re- 
treat made  at  the  first  indication  of  its  closing. 


THE    NORTHERN    PACK.  35 

"  A  vessel  beset  in  the  pack  is  as  helpless  as  if  she  were 
far  inland,  while  there  is  imminent  danger  of  being  crushed 
at  any  moment.  When  the  wind  blows  on  the  pack,  the 
drift  ice  becomes  as  close  as  the  pack  itself.  In  addition  to 
the  constant  twisting,  turning,  breaking,  and  piling  up  of 
the  ice,  the  whole  body  has  a  northern  set,  moving  very 
slowly,  but  none  the  less  surely. 

"  Having  visited  every  part  of  the  Arctic  that  it  was  pos- 
sible for  a  vessel  to  reach,  penetrating  the  icy  regions  in  all 
directions  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  further  than  any  vessel 
succeeded  in  doing  last  year,  without  being  able  to  find  the 
slightest  trace  or  gain  the  least  tidings  of  the  missing 
whalers,  we  were  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  they  had  been 
crushed  and  carried  north  in  the  pack,  and  that  their  crews 
had  perished.  Had  any  of  them  survived  the  winter  it  seems 
almost  certain  that  they  would  have  been  found  either  by  the 
Corwin  or  by  some  of  the  whalers,  all  of  whom  were  on  the 
lookout  for  them  during  the  summer.  It  was  thought  possi- 
ble that  the  crews  might  have  escaped  over  the  ice  and 
reached  Herald  Island,  but  a  sight  of  the  perpendicular  sides 
of  that  most  inhospitable-looking  place  soon  banished  even 
this  small  hope. 

"  I  have  no  fears  for  the  safety  of  the  officers  and  crew  of 
the  Jeannette.  The  fact  that  they  have  not  been  heard  from 
seems  to  indicate  that  the  vessel  is  safe,  and  that  they 
consider  themselves  able  to  remain  another  year  at  least." 

Many  of  the  desolate  places  which  the  Corwin  sighted  or 
touched  at  had  been  visited  and  named  by  English  naviga- 
tors in  search  of  Franklin.  A  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Herald  speaks  of  some  of  them  as  follows  : — 

"  Notable  among  those  on  the  Asiatic  coast  is  Emma  Har- 
bor, Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  where  Captain  Moore  wintered  in 
the  Plover  in  1848-49.  It  is  surrounded  on  nearly  all  sides 
by  lofty,  barren  mountains,  whose  summits,  reaching  into  the 
clouds,  give  them  an  air  of  desolate  grandeur.  Their  geolo- 
gical formation  is  quite  remarkable,  seemingly  nothing  more 
than  colossal  piles  of  broken  bowlders  and  fragments  of  rock. 


36  THE    JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

"On  the  American  side,  the  western  extremity  of  the  New 
World,  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  terminates  as  a  bold,  ragged 
promontory,  whose  celebrated  peak,  being  joined  to  the  main- 
land by  a  low  ridge  of  hills,  gives  it  at  a  distance  the  appear- 
ance of  standing  alone  in  the  ocean. 


ESKIMO  FAMILY  NEAR  CAPE  PRINCE  OF  WALES. 

"  Near  the  head  of  Kotzebue  Sound  we  found  on  Chamisso 
Island,  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level,  an  astro- 
nomical station,  composed  of  a  mound  of  earth  and  stones, 
on  the  top  of  which  was  a  wooden  shaft  about  twelve  feet 
high,  and  bearing  carved  inscriptions  of  several  English 
ships — Blossom,  Herald,  Plover.  To  these  was  added  the 
'Corwin — 1880.'  Near  by  was  another  shaft  with  the  names 
of  some  Russian  vessels. 

"  About  forty  miles  south  of  Bering's  Straits  is  a  remarka- 
ble rocky  island,  named  King's  Island  by  Captain  Cook.  Its 
cliffs,  almost  perpendicular  on  all  sides,  rise  to  the  height  of 
750  feet.  It  is  surrounded  by  bold  water,  enabling  ships  to 


AN   ESQUIMAUX   EYRIE.  37 

approach  to  within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  shore.  This 
Arctic  Gibraltar — minus  the  fortifications — has  a  ragged  out- 
line, and  its  surface  is  composed  principally  of  stone  covered 
with  mosses  and  lichens,  but  neither  tree  nor  shrub  nor 
grass  is  to  be  found.  Noticeable  on  the  most  elevated  points 
are  a  number  of  stone  columns  resembling  the  remains  of  a 
Druidical  place  of  worship,  or  the  ruins  of  some  old  feudal 
castle. 

"  But  the  most  noteworthy  feature  of  the  island  is  the 
village,  composed  chiefly  of  houses  excavated  in  the  rocks 
on  a  slope  of  somewhat  less  than  forty-five  degrees,  and  "from 
one  to  two  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  At  a  distance  it 
looks  not  unlike  the  resort  of  some  of  the  sea-fowl  who 
choose  these  isolated  spots  to  hatch  and  rear  their  young. 
The  wonder  naturally  arises,  what  are  the  attractions  and 
capabilities  of  such  a  place,  that  the  simple-minded  Esqui- 
maux should  select  it  as  an  abode  ?  All  of  which  can  be 
answered  in  one  word — walrus.  Near  the  village  is  a  cave, 
used  by  the  natives  as  a  store-house  or  crypt  for  food,  the  en- 
trance to  which  is  not  unlike  an  immense  gable  window. 

"  More  space  might  be  devoted  to  a  detailed  description  of 
what  may  not  inappropriately  be  called  an  Esquimaux  eyrie, 
rivaling  in  interest  the  lacustrine  villages  of  Switzerland,  so 
remote  and  unique  is  its  position  ;  but  we  will  only  conclude 
by  saying  that  the  traveler  and  the  archaeologist  may  go  far 
in  their  journeyings  and  researches  before  finding  a  place 
that  shall  equal  in  grotesqueness  this  far  away  Walhalla  of 
the  walrus  family." 

The  fact  that  nothing  was  heard  of  the  Jeannette  during 
the  season  of  1880  did  not  cause  general  serious  apprehen- 
sions for  her  safety,  and  some  Arctic  navigators  considered 
it  a  good  omen  —  a  promise  that  the  expedition  would  be  a 
successful  one,  and  that  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  sent 
out  would  be  accomplished.  On  this  subject  Lieutenant 
Weyprecht,  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Arctic  expedition  of 
1872,  wrote  as  follows :  — 

"I  cannot  see  any  reason  for  being  more  anxious  about 


38 


THE    JEANNETTE    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


the  Jeannette  now  than  on  the  day  when  she  entered  tho 
ice.  A  ship,  whose  object  is  discoveries  in  uninhabited  re- 
gions, cannot  be  expected  to  remain  in  communication  with 
home.  I  know  the  Jeannette  to  be  well  adapted  for  Arctic 
service,  and  she  is  provisioned  for  three  years,  —  so  Mr. 
DeLong  has  no  reason  to  linger  about  the  outer  ice  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  are  expecting  news.  The  absence  of 
news,  and  the  failure  of  the  Corwin  to  obtain  information, 
must  be  contemplated  as  a  symptom  of  success,  the  Jean- 
nette having  probably  wintered  in  regions  inaccessible  to 
trading  ships.  With  all  the  resources  at  his  disposition,  Mr. 
DeLong  cannot  be  expected  to  return  so  early  without  hav- 
ing completely  fulfilled  his  task,  if  not  compelled  by  very 
pressing  motives,  such  as  scurvy  among  his  crew,  or  the  loss 
of  the  ship." 


TATTOOED  WOMAN  OF  ST.  LAWRENCE  ISLAND. 


CHAPTER  IIL 

(SEARCHES  FOR  THE  JEANNETTE  —  18fflL 
(SECOND  CRUISE  OP  THE  CORWIN.) 

AS  the  spring  of  1881  drew  on  without  bringing  any  news 
of  the  Jeannette,  it  was  deemed  wise  to  carry  out  some 
concerted  plan  of  action  for  the  discovery  of  the  whereabouts 
of  the  ship  and  her  crew.  Petitions  for  government  aid  and 
action  were  presented  to  Congress,  and  Hon.  Charles  P. 
Daly,  President  of  the  American  Geographical  Society,  in  an 
eloquent  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  urged 
the  sending  out  of  a  search  expedition. 

Subsequently,  early  in  March,  Congress  authorized  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  expend  $175,000  for  a  suitable  ship 
and  its  equipments,  to  be  manned  wholly  by  volunteers  from 
the  navy,  and  to  be  sent  north  to  search  for  the  Jeannette. 
A  little  later,  Secretary  Hunt  convened  at  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment a  board  of  officers,  to  whom  the  duty  was  intrusted  of 
suggesting  and  advising  as  to  the  best  plan  for  conducting 
the  government  searches  for  the  Jeannette. 

The  Jeannette  Relief  Expedition  Board  was  composed  of 
Rear-Admiral  JohnRodgers,  Captain  James  A.  Greer,  Lieu- 
tenant-Commander Henry  C.  White,  Lieutenant  William  P. 
Randall,  Lieutenant  R.  M.  Berry  (recorder),  Paymaster  Al- 
bert S.  Kenny,  and  Surgeon  Jerome  S.  Kidder.  They  were 
officers  of  great  experience,  and  most  of  them  had  been 
identified  with  earlier  Arctic  expeditions  and  explorations  in 
that  region.  After  thoroughly  investigating  the  whole  sub- 
ject, they  made  a  full  report,  in  which  they  stated  their  views 
as  to  the  direction  of  the  search,  and  the  best  means  for  car- 
rying it  out. 

(39), 


40  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

During  the  summer  of  1881,  three  well-appointed  expedi- 
tions—  in  the  Corwin,  the  Rodgers,  and  the  Alliance  —  sailed 
northward  from  the  United  States  expressly  to  search  for 
the  Jeannette.  Two  other  expeditions,  also,  which  went  out 
primarily  for  scientific  purposes,  were  instructed  to  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  for  the  Jeannette,  and  to  consider  it  an  im- 
portant part  of  their  duty.  The  first  of  these  was  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Greely,  with  a  station  at  Lady 
Franklin  Bay,  in  Smith  Sound  ;  and  the  second  was  located 
at  Point  Barrow,  the  northern  extremity  of  Alaska,  under 
command  of  Lieutenant  Ray. 

Nor  were  the  Search  Expeditions  of  1881  confined  to  the 
United  States.  England  was  represented  by  Mr.  Leigh 
Smith,  a  private  gentleman,  who,  in  his  little  yacht,  the  Eira, 
gallantly  took  upon  himself  the  task  of  searching  in  the  re- 
gion of  Franz  Josef  Land ;  an  exploring  expedition  under 
Dutch  auspices,  in  the  ship  Wilhelm  Barentz,  volunteered  to 
make  the  search  for  the  Jeannette  a  part  of  its  programme ; 
Russian  men-of-war  were  directed  to  do  what  they  could  for 
the  discovery  and  relief  of  the  lost  explorers ;  the  nomad 
inhabitants  of  Northern  Siberia  were  requested  to  be  on  the 
lookout  for  any  survivors  of  the  expedition  who  might  reach 
their  coast ;  and  M.  Soulkowsky,  a  Russian,  traveled  over- 
land from  Irkutsk  to  Bering's  Strait,  through  Siberia,  on 
the  same  errand. 

The  first  Jeannette  Search  Expedition  to  leave  the  United 
States  in  the  year  1881,  steamed  out  of  San  Francisco  harbor 
in  the  revenue  steamer  Corwin,  on  the  4th  day  of  May.  The 
occasion  was  one  of  much  friendly  interest,  and  thousands 
of  people  assembled  to  witness  the  departure  of  the  explorers. 
The  officers  of  the  Corwin  on  this  voyage  were  as  follows  : — 

Captain  Charles  L.  Hooper,  Commander. 

First  Lieutenant,  W.  J.  Herring.     Second  Lieutenant,  E.  Burke. 
Third  Lieutenants,  O.  B.  Myrick,  George  H.  Doty,  Win.  E.  Reynolds. 
Chief  Engineer,  J.  T.  Wayson.     Assistant  Engineers,  C.  A.  Laws,  E. 
Owen. 
Surgeon,  Irving  C.  Rosse.     Scientist,  Professor  John  Muir. 


SECOND   CRUISE   OF  THE   CORWIN.  41 

Ten  days  after  leaving  San  Francisco  the  Corwin  was 
within  sight  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  a  little  later  was 
anchored  in  the  bay  at  the  southern  end  of  Ounalaska,  to  the 
leeward  of  a  high  mountain.  The  natives  came  out  from 
the  shore  to  welcome  back  the  little  cutter  which  had  visited 
them  the  preceding  year. 

The  next  halt  was  made  at  Seal  Islands,  May  23d  ;  ice  was 
sighted  on  the  24th  ;  and  the  Corwin  arrived  at  St.  Lawrence 
Island  on  the  28th.  The  natives  appeared  to  be  well  sup- 
plied with  food,  but  lamented  the  non-arrival  of  trading  ves- 
sels with  whiskey,  as  in  former  years.  The  voyage  was  re- 
sumed the  same  night. 

Having  been  informed  that  a  story  was  in  circulation 
among  the  natives  along  the  coast  to  the  effect  that  a  party 
of  seal-hunters,  while  on  the  ice  near  Cape  North,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1880,  had  discovered  and  boarded  two  wrecked  vessels 
(supposed  from  the  description  given  of  them  to  be  the 
missing  whalers,  Mount  Wollaston  and  Vigilant),  Captain 
Hooper  resolved  to  fit  out  a  land  party  to  follow  the  coast 
north  and  west,  to  investigate  this  report,  and  search  for  the 
Jeannette.  He  stopped  at  St.  Lawrence  Bay  to  procure  dogs 
for  the  party,  but  the  natives  would  neither  sell  nor  lend 
any.  When  told  of  the  object  of  the  excursion,  they  shook 
their  heads,  and  said  :  "  No  use ;  all  dead  "  ;  and  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  At  a  village  a  little  beyond  Cape 
Serdze,  Captain  Hooper  was  more  successful. 

"  Following  the  coast,"  he  says,  u  to  the  westward,  we 
came  to  a  settlement  of  Chukches,  behind  an  island  called 
by  the  natives  Tupkan,  which  is  about  one  mile  long,  one- 
fourth  of  a  mile  wide,  and  150  feet  high.  It  lies  a  mile  off 
shore.  Along  the  coast  we  found  a  rim  of  ice  from  five  to 
thirty  feet  high,  and  extending  from  two  to  ten  miles  off 
shore.  At  our  landing-place  it  was  quite  narrow,  but  so 
rough  and  hummocky  that  it  seemed  to  us  impassable,  and 
we  were  about  to  give  up  the  attempt  and  return  to  the  ships 
when  we  saw  some  natives  going  in  the  direction  of  the 
vessel,  about  a  mile  further  north.  Taking  our  boat  we 


42  THE   JE ANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

rowed  to  a  point  opposite  them,  and  getting  out  on  the  ioe 
we  waited  for  them  to  approach,  which  they  did  with  some 
caution,  as  if  they  were  not  quite  sure  what  our  intentions 
were.  However,  a  few  words  from  our  interpreter,  Joe,  and 
a  present  of  some  tobacco,  soon  quieted  their  fears  and 
established  friendly  relations  between  us.  At  first  they 
denied  all  knowledge  of  the  report  in  regard  to  the  wrecks, 
but  subsequently,  having  acknowledged  that  they  had  heard 
of  it,  they  told  so  many  wonderful  tales  that  we  were  in- 
clined to  doubt  them  all. 

"After  some  persuasion  and  promises  of  liberal  rewards, 
two  of  them  consented  to  accompany  us  if  we  would  shoot 
walrus  for  their  families  to  subsist  upon  during  their  absence. 
This  we  readily  promised,  provided  we  could  find  the  walrus; 
but  as  none  were  in  sight,  and  we  could  not  spare  the  time 
to  hunt  for  them,  we  compromised  by  giving  them  a  few 
pounds  of  tobacco.  One  of  them  proved  to  be  such  a  great 
talker  that  Joe,  who  was  a  man  of  very  few  words,  said, 
after  listening  to  him  awhile, *  I  think  its  more  better  we 
don't  take  this  fellow;  too  much  talk,' and  in  deference  to 
Joe's  wishes  the  loquacious  Tupkan  was  left  behind.  Tho 
other,  a  large,  quiet,  good-natured  fellow,  accompanied  us, 
and  was  found  useful,  although  given  to  romancing.  He 
seemed  to  think  we  were  in  search  of  information  which  it 
was  his  special  province  to  supply,  and  some  of  the  flights  of 
imagination  he  indulged  in  were  truly  surprising,  consider- 
ing that  he  had  never  received  any  of  the  advantages  of  a 
civilized  education." 

The  Corwin  now  steamed  northward  through  a  lane  of  open 
water,  between  the  pack  and  the  shore  ice,  until  June  1st, 
when,  in  latitude  68°  10'  north,  longitude  176°  48'  west,  the 
end  of  the  lead  was  reached.  They  had  run  up  this  lead  for 
over  one  hundred  miles,  and  it  had  been  foggy  or  snowing 
most  all  of  the  time  since  they  entered  it,  so  that  often  they 
could  not  see  more  than  the  length  of  the  vessel.  . 

The  Corwin  now  stood  to  the  eastward  under  sail.  No 
land  could  be  seen,  a  dense  snow-storm  prevailed,  and  a  hard 


PLOVER   BAY.  48 

gale  from  the  north  brought  down  large  quantities  of  ice. 
During  the  night  the  rudder  was  broken  off  by  coming  in 
contact  with  heavy  ice. 

The  next  day  the  explorers  steamed  southeast  along  the 
edge  of  the  shore  ice,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  for  land.  The 
lead  was  closing  rapidly  behind  them,  and  there  was  dan- 
ger of  being  frozen  in.  Toward  night  it  stopped  snowing, 
and  an  island  was  in  full  view.  The  ship  was  stopped,  and 
the  land  party,  consisting  of  Lieutenants  Herring  and  Rey- 
nolds, one  seaman,  and  two  natives,  were  put  ashore.  They 
took  with  them  twenty-five  dogs,  four  sleds,  a  skin  boat,  pro- 
visions for  two  months,  etc.  They  were  directed  to  go  as  far 
westward  as  Cape  Yakan,  if  possible,  and  to  rejoin  the  Cor- 
win  at  Cape  Serdze. 

After  seeing  the  party  fairly  started,  the  Corwin  was 
headed  south  for  Plover  Bay,  Siberia.  The  approach  to  this 
place,  and  the  appearance  of  the  coast,  is  thus  described :  — 
"  In  the  afternoon  of  the  12th  the  sea  became  smooth  and 
glassy  as  a  mountain  lake,  and  the  clouds  lifted,  gradually- 
unveiling  the  Siberian  coast  up  to  the  tops  of  the  mountains. 
First  the  black  bluffs  standing  close  to  the  water  came  in 
sight,  then  the  white  slopes,  and  then  one  summit  after  an- 
other until  a  continuous  range,  forty  or  fifty  miles  long,  could 
be  seen  from  one  point  of  view,  forming  a  very  beautiful 
landscape.  Smooth,  dull,  dark  water  in  the  foreground ; 
next  a  broad  belt  of  ice,  mostly  white  like  snow,  with  numer- 
ous masses  of  blue  and  black  shade  among  its  jagged,  up- 
lifted blocks.  Then  a  strip  of  comparatively  low  shore, 
black  and  gray ;  and  then  back  of  that  the  pure,  white  moun- 
tains, with  only  here  and  there  dark  spots,  where  the  rock 
faces  are  too  steep  for  snow  to  lie  upon." 

After  visiting  St.  Michael's,  Norton  Sound,  Captain  Hoop- 
er returned  to  Cape  Serdze,  and  took  the  land  excursionists 
on  board.  "  They  had  been  absent  twenty-eight  days,  and  had 
been  along  the  Asiatic  coast  to  a  place  called  Cape  Wanker- 
em,  where  they  found  the  parties  who  had  boarded  the  wreck, 
and  obtained  from  them  a  number  of  articles  taken  from  it, 


44 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


which  have  since  been  identified  as  belonging  to  the  missing 
whaling-bark  Vigilant,  and  others  to  Captain  Nye,  of  the 
Mount  Wollaston,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  both 
crews  had  been  on  board  the  Vigilant.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that,  both  vessels  being  caught,  it  was  decided  by  their  cap- 
tains, who  were  both  skillful  sailors  and  men  of  great  courage 
and  energy,  to  unite  their  forces  on  the  best  vessel,  and  that  a 
subsequent  break-up  of  the  ice  released  it,  and  enabled  them 
to  reach  some  point  near  where  the  wreck  was  discovered 
before  again  becoming  embayed. 


SLEDGING  ON  THE  SIBERIAN  COAST. 

"  The  statement  made  by  the  natives  was,  that  they  were 
out  sealing  on  the  ice,  when,  seeing  a  dark  object,  they  ap- 
proached it,  and  it  was  found  to  be  the  hull  of  a  vessel,  -with 
masts,  bulwarks,  and  boats  gone,  and  the  hold  partly  filled 
with  water.  In  the  cabin  were  four  corpses,  three  on  the 
floor  and  one  in  a  berth.  After  taking  what  they  could  carry 
home,  night  coining  on,  they  left  the  wreck,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  returning  in  the  morning ;  but  during  the  night  the 
wind,  which  had  been  from  the  northward,  changed  to  south- 
west, and  the  wreck  was  not  seen  again,  having  drifted  away 
or  sunk. 

"  The  sledge  party  had  also  met  traveling  parties  of  Chuk- 


EXPLORATION    OF   HERALD   ISLAND.  45 

ches  from  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Yakan,  on  their  way  to 
:East  Cape,  and  from  them  learned  that  no  white  men  had 
been  seen  on  the  coast.  These  people  are  constantly  travel- 
ing back  and  forth,  and  it  would  be  almost  impossible  for 
any  one  landing  on  the  coast  to  escape  their  notice." 

From  Cape  Serdze  Captain  Hooper  went  to  Cape  Lisburne, 
a  bold,  rocky  promontory  on  the  northwestern  coast  of 
Alaska,  to  get  a  supply  of  coal  from  a  mine  in  that  vicinity. 
He  then  headed  northwesterly,  and  succeeded  in  getting 
within  half  a  mile  of  Herald  Island.  The  ship  was  an- 
chored to  the  shore  ice  July  30th,  and  a  party  immediately 
landed.  Professor  John  Muir,  the  scientist  of  the  expedition, 
describes  the  exploration  of  the  island  as  follows  : — 

"  After  so  many  futile  efforts  had  been  made  to  reach  this 
little  ice-bound  island,  everybody  seemed  wildly  eager  to  run 
ashore  and  climb  to  the  summit  of  its  sheer  granite  cliffs. 
At  first  a  party  of  eight  jumped  from  the  bowsprit  chains 
and  ran  across  the  narrow  belt  of  margin  ice,  and  madly 
began  to  climb  up  an  excessively  steep  gully,  which  came  to 
an  end  in  an  inaccessible  slope  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the 
water.  Those  ahead  loosened  and  sent  down  a  train  of 
granite  bowlders,  which  shot  over  the  heads  of  those  below 
in  a  far  more  dangerous  manner  than  any  of  the  party 
seemed  to  appreciate.  Fortunately  nobody  was  hurt,  and 
all  made  out  to  get  down  in  safety. 

"While  this  remarkable  piece  of  mountaineering  and 
Arctic  exploration  was  in  progress,  a  light  skin-covered  boat 
was  dragged  over  the  ice  and  launched  on  a  strip  of  water 
that  stretched  in  front  of  an  accessible  ravine,  the  bed  of  an 
ancient  glacier,  which  I  felt  assured  would  conduct  by  an 
easy  grade  to  the  summit  of  the  island.  The  slope  of  this 
ravine,  for  the  first  one  hundred  feet  or  so,  was  very  steep ; 
but,  inasmuch  as  it  was  full  of  firm,  icy  snow,  it  was  easily 
ascended  by  cutting  steps  in  the  face  of  it  with  an  axe  that 
I  had  brought  from  the  ship  for  the  purpose.  Beyond  this 
there  was  not  the  slightest  difficulty  in  our  way,  the  glacier 
having  graded  a  fine,  broad  road. 


46  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

"Kellet,  who  discovered  this  island  in  1849,  and  landed 
on  it  under  unfavorable  circumstances,  describes  it  as  an 
inaccessible  rock.  The  sides  are,  indeed,  in  general,  extremely 
sheer  and  precipitous  all  around,  though  skilled  mountain- 
eers would  find  many  gullies  and  slopes  by  which  they  might 
reach  the  summit.  I  first  pushed  on  to  the  head  of  the  gla- 
cier valley,  and  thence  along  the  backbone  of  the  island  to 
the  highest  point,  which  I  found  to  be  about  one  thousand 
two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  point  is 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  northwest  end,  and  four 
and  a  half  from  the  northeast  end,  thus  making  the  island 
about  six  miles  in  length.  It  has  been  cut  nearly  in  two  by 
the  glacial  action  it  has  undergone,  the  width  at  this  lowest 
portion  being  about  half  a  mile,  and  the  average  width  about 
two  miles.  The  entire  island  is  a  mass  of  granite,  with  the 
exception  of  a  patch  of  metamorphic  slate  near  the  center, 
and  no  doubt  owes  its  existence  with  so  considerable  a  height 
to  the  superior  resistance  this  granite  offered  to  the  degrad- 
ing action  of  the  northern  ice  sheet,  traces  of  which  are 
here  plainly  shown.  .  .  .  This  little  island,  standing,  as  it 
does,  alone  out  in  the  Polar  sea,  is  a  fine  glacial  monument. 

"The  midnight  hour  I  spent  alone  on  the  highest  summit, 
one  of  the  most  impressive  hours  of  my  life.  The  deepest 
silence  seemed  to  press  down  on  all  the  vast,  immeasurable, 
virgin  landscape.  The  sun  near  the  horizon  reddened  the 
edges  of  belted  cloud-bars  near  the  base  of  the  sky,  and  the 
jagged  ice-bowlders  crowded  together  over  the  frozen  ocean 
stretching  indefinitely  northward,  while  more  than  a  hun- 
dred miles  of  that  mysterious  Wrangel  Land  was  seen  blue 
in  the  northwest — a  wavering  line  of  hill  and  dale  over  the 
white  and  blue  ice-prairie  and  pale  gray  mountains  beyond, 
well  calculated  to  fix  the  eye  of  a  mountaineer;  but  it  was 
to  the  far  north  that  I  ever  found  myself  turning,  where  the 
ice  met  the  sky. 

"I  would  fain  have  watched  here  all  the  strange  night, 
but  was  compelled  to  remember  the  charge  given  me  by  the 
captain,  to  make  haste  and  return  to  the  ship  as  soon  as  I 


EXPLORATION    OP    HERALD   ISLAND. 


4T 


should  find  it  possible,  as  there  was  ten  miles  of  shifting, 
drifting  ice  between  us  and  the  open  sea.  I  therefore  began 
the  return  journey  about  one  o'clock  this  morning,  after  tak- 
ing the  compass  bearings  of  the  principal  points  within 
sight  on  Wrangel  Land  and  making  a  hasty  collection  of 
the  flowering  plants  on  my  way.  .  .  . 


A  BIRD  NURSERY. 

V 

"Innumerable  gulls  and  murres  breed  on  the  steep  cliffs, 
the  latter  most  abundant.  They  kept  up  a  constant  din  of 
domestic  notes.  Some  of  them  are  sitting  on  their  eggs, 
others  have  young;  and  it  seems  astonishing  that  either 
eggs  or  the  young  can  find  a  resting-place  on  cliffs  so 
severely  precipitous.  The  nurseries  formed  a  lively  picture, 
the  parents  coming  and  going  with  food  or  to  seek  it,  thou- 


48  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

sands  in  rows,  standing  on  narrow  ledges  like  bottles  on  a 
grocer's  shelves,  the  feeding  of  the  little  ones,  the  multitude 
of  wings,  etc." 

Another  member  of  the  exploring  party  described  his 
experiences  as  follows:  "Selecting  what  was  conceived  to 
be  the  most  favorable  spot  for  ascending  the  cliff,  several 
persons  made  the  attempt,  occasionally  detaching  huge  bowl- 
ders, which  came  bounding  down  like  a  bombardment,  and 
recalling  some  old  army  experiences.  The  attempt  had  to 
be  abandoned  after  getting  up  a  few  hundred  feet.  In  com- 
pany with  several  others,  the  writer  tried  what  seemed  to  be 
a  more  practicable  way — a  gully  filled  with  snow — up  which 
we  had  gone  scarcely  a  hundred  feet  when,  looking  back 
with  affright  and  forward  with  despair,  we  literally  backed 
down  with  failing  hearts  and  trembling  limbs.  In  the 
meantime  the  skin  boat  had  been  brought  over  the  ice;  and, 
one  of  the  men  pointing  out  another  place  where  he  thought 
we  might  ascend,  it  was  the  work  of  but  a  few  minutes  to 
cross  a  small  bit  of  open  water  which  led  to  the  foot  of  a 
steep  snow-bank,  somewhat  discolored  from  the  gravel 
brought  down  by  melting  snow  from  above.  We  climbed 
several  hundred  feet  up  the  snow  and  ice,  having  to  cut 
steps  before  reaching  the  top.  It  was  like  scrambling  over 
the  dome  of  the  Washington  capitol  with  a  great  yawning 
cliff  below.  A  ravine  was  next  reached,  through  which 
tumbled,  with  loud  noise  and  wild  confusion,  over  broken 
rocks  and  amid  some  scant  lichens  and  mosses,  a  mountain 
stream  of  pure  water,  which  had  hollowed  out  a  shaft  or 
tunnel,  forming  a  glacier  mill  or  moulin.  It  was  over  the 
roof  of  this  tunnel  that  we  had  passed. 

"  All  sense  of  fatigue  vanished  on  reaching  this  summit. 
The  grand  view  there  revealed  like  an  apocalypse  made  one 
halt  with  feelings  of  mingled  delight  and  astonishment.  In 
front  the  midnight  sun  shone  with  gleaming  splendor,  color- 
ing all  the  waste  of  ice,  sea,  and  granite.  To  the  left 
Wrangel  Land  appeared  in  well-defined  outline,  and  to  the 
northward  an  open  sea  led  we  knew  not  whither.  From  the 


A   CAIRN   ERECTKD.  49 

middle  of  the  island  two  or  three  points  of  the  land  bore 
southwest  by  west  deceptively.  In  shape  the  island  is 
something  like  a  boot,  with  a  depression  at  the  instep.  In 
the  extreme  west  were  seen  a  number  of  jagged  peaks  and 
splintered  pinnacles  of  granite,  some  of  them  resembling 
giant  remains  of  ancient  sculpture,  all  worse  for  exposure 
to  the  weather." 

The  island  was  searched  carefully  for  traces  of  the  miss- 
ing ships,  but  none  were  found,  or  anything  to  indicate  that 
the  island  had  ever  before  been  visited.  The  only  signs  of 
life  seen,  excepting  the  birds,  were  a  small  fox  and  a  polar 
bear.  On  a  high  promontory,  at  the  northeast  point,  a 
cairn  was  erected,  in  which  was  placed  a  bottle  containing 
written  information  and  a  copy  of  the  New  York  Herald. 

After  leaving  Herald  Island,  July  31st,  the  Corwin  cruised 
for  several  days  off  the  coast  of  Wrangel  Land,  following 
along  the  edge  of  the  ice-pack,  running  into  leads,  and  trying 
to  reach  the  land,  but  never  being  able  to  approach  nearer 
than  twenty  miles.  As  it  was  impossible  to  effect  a  landing 
until  there  was  a  decided  change  in  the 'condition  of  the  ice, 
Hooper  withdrew  southerly,  moving  through  floating  ice,  and 
reached  the  mouth  of  Wankerem  River,  on  the  Siberian 
coast.  While  skirting  along  the  coast  they  fell  in  with  a 
number  of  wandering  Yoraks,  who  had  herds  of  reindeer. 

The  10th  of  August  found  the  explorers  again  on  the  edge 
of  the  ice-pack,  off  the  south  end  of  Wrangel  Land.  On  the 
evening  of  the  llth  they  entered  a  lead,  and  had  approached 
to  within  eight  miles  of  land,  when  a  dense  fog  stopped  fur- 
ther progress.  The  next  morning,  after  squeezing  through 
heavy  ice  for  two  hours,  they  reached  a  small  space  of  open 
water,  and  anchored  about  three  hundred  feet  from  the 
beach.  The  cutter  was  lowered,  and  Captain  Hooper,  Lieu- 
tenant Reynolds,  Engineer  Owen,  and  others  started  for  the 
shore. 

The  party  landed,  and  looked  anxiously  around  for  traces 
of  the  missing  seamen,  but  they  looked  in  vain ;  their  own 
4 


50  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

voices  alone  broke  the  solitude.  On  a  high  cliff  Lieutenant 
Reynolds  set  up  a  pole  of  drift  wood,  to  which  was  attached 
an  American  flag,  and  a  bottle  containing  a  record  of  the  visit. 
The  country  was  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  rechristened  New  Columbia. 
As  the  flag  fluttered  in  the  breeze  a  salute  was  fired  from  the 
ship,  and  cheers  were  given  by  the  crew  and  the  land  party. 

"  The  great  distance  to  which  slight  sounds  are  sometimes 
transmitted  in  the  Arctic  regions  is  remarkable.  Amid  the 
grim  silence  of  Wrangel  Land,  at  a  time  when  the  air  was 
acoustically  opaque  for  that  latitude,  the  voice  of  the  boat- 
swain giving  orders  two  miles  away  was  distinctly  heard  by 
the  land  party,  while  laughter  and  words  spoken  above  the 
ordinary  tone  were  heard  with  such  amazing  distinctness  as 
to  suggest  telephonic  communication." 

The  river  where  the  Corwin  anchored  was  named  Clark 
River,  in  honor  of  Mr.  E.  W.  Clark,  the  Chief  of  the  Revenue 
Marine.  It  was  about  one  hundred  yards  wide,  and  deep 
and  rapid,  and  from  the  top  of  the  cliffs  near  by  it  could  be 
seen  extending  back'  into  the  mountains  a  distance  of  forty 
miles.  The  mountains,  devoid  of  snow,  and  seen  under  very 
favorable  circumstances  through  a  rift  in  the  clouds,  ap- 
peared brown  and  naked. 

"  Our  stay  on  shore,"  says  Captain  Hooper,  "  was  necessa- 
rily short,  on  account  of  the  strong  northerly  current  which 
was  sweeping  the  ice-pack  along  with  irresistible  force. 
At  half-past  nine  A.M.,  being  unable  to  hold  our  position  any 
longer,  we  commenced  to  work  out  toward  the  lead,  which 
we  reached  at  eleven  A.M.  We  examined  the  shore  line  with 
our  glasses  while  approaching  and  leaving  the  land,  north 
and  south,  and  saw  nothing  but  perpendicular  cliffs  of  slate, 
from  one  to  three  hundred  feet  high,  the  sloping  banks  of 
the  river  being  the  only  place  for  miles  where  a  party  travel- 
ing over  the  ice  would  be  able  to  affect  a  landing." 

Captain  Hooper  now  sailed  to  the  eastward,  and  on  the 
16th  reached  Point  Barrow,  where  lie  found  a  portion  of  the 
crew  of  the  whaling-ship  Daniel  Webster,  which  had  been 


WRECK    OP   THE   WEBSTER.  51 

crushed  by  the  closing  of  a  lead,  to  the  north  end  of  which 
it  had  sailed.  The  captain  of  the  Webster  only  realized  his 
danger  when  it  was  too  late.  In  half  an  hour  after  the  lead 
began  to  close  behind  him,  his  ship  was  crushed,  and  thrown 
over  on  the  ice,  a  wreck.  The  crew  escaped  to  the  shore, 
and  some  of  them  had  gone  overland  to  Icy  Cape.  Nine  of 
the  crew  were  taken  aboard  the  Corwin. 

Leaving  Point  Barrow,  August  18th,  the  Corwin  ran  south- 
erly to  Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  a  distance  of  600  miles,  and  ar- 
rived there  the  24th.  The  Golden  Fleece  was  anchored  in 
the  harbor,  having  on  board  Lieutenant  Ray  and  his  party, 
bound  for  Point  Barrow  to  establish  a  signal  station,  and 
from  them  Captain  Hooper  first  learned  of  the  assassination 
of  President  Garfield.  The  natives  were  very  friendly,  and 
reported  that  the  Rodgers  had  been  there  eight  days  previous, 
and  that  a  Russian  man-of-war  had  gone  up  the  coast. 

An  excursion  up  the  bay  is  thus  described  by  the  Herald 
correspondent :  "  Having  turned  over  to  Lieutenant  Ray  two 
of  our  dog-sledges  and  a  quantity  of  furs,  we  towed  his  ves- 
sel to  sea,  and  returning  took  the  steam-launch,  with  two 
natives,  and  started  up  the  bay  to  visit  some  Reindeer  Chuk- 
clies,  about  twenty  miles  off.  Soon  the  busy  little  launch 
was  spinning  through  the  water,  and  the  rhythmic*  grind  of 
her  machinery  greatly  astonished  the  natives.  I  asked  one 
of  them,  by  way  of  banter,  '  Why  don't  you  people  build  a 
boat  like  this  ?'  To  which  he  replied,  pressing  his  hand  on 
his  forehead,  '  Ah,  too  much  think  —  too  much  think." 

"  Arrived  at  the  deer-man's,  we  found  his  house,  or  rather 
his  ovoidal  tent,  between  two  high  mountains,  and  at  the  foot 
of  a  valley,  which  extended  back  in  the  clear  air  many  miles 
of  picturesque  distance  amid  other  mountains,  remarkable  if 
not  unique  on  account  of  their  desolate  grandeur.  On  mak- 
ing known  the  object  of  our  visit,  the  old  man  despatched 
two  of  his  sons,  lithe,  nimble  fellows,  who  started  off  in  a 
trot,  each  with  a  long  spear,  over  the  mountains  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  deer  pasture.  As  they  were  gone  some  five 
or  six  hours,  I  amused  myself  in  the  meantime  by  climbing 


52  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

over  2,000  feet  up  the  steep  side  of  the  nearest  mountain.  It 
may  be  the  amusement  of  a  small  mind,  but  it  was  great  fun 
to  detach  several  large  bowlders  of  a  ton  or  more  and  see 
them  go  tearing  and  thundering  down  the  rocky  incline. 
Among  other  things  there  was  noticeable  on  the  side  of  this 
mountain  a  tunnel  under  the  snow  of  several  hundred  feet  in 
length.  It  had  been  caused  by  a  brisk  stream,  and  reminded 
one  of  a  sewer  some  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height. 

"  After  exploring  this  somewhat  curious  sight,  my  atten- 
tion was  next  directed  to  the  herd  of  deer  coming  slowly 
down  the  valley.  Pretty,  quiet,  meek-looking  animals  they 
were  as  they  stood  chewing  their  cuds",  and  allowing  them- 
selves to  be  photographed  without  the  least  fear.  So  tame 
and  gentle  were  they  that  I  patted  and  stroked  a  number  of 
them.  The  herd,  numbering  something  less  than  two  hun- 
dred, were  of  different  colors,  several  being  perfectly  white, 
and  others  fawn-colored,  while  several  were  spotted  like  cir- 
cus-horses, and  most  of  them  were  shedding  the  hairy  muffle 
from  their  horns,  which,  in  several  instances,  was  hanging 
in  shreds,  and  obstructing  their  eyesight. 

"  Selecting  two  young  males  from  the  herd,  they  were 
killed  and  skinned,  and  one  of  the  young  men,  stripping 
himself  tt>  the  waist,  and  being  assisted  by  two  others,  took 
the  carcasses  to  the  boat  for  us ;  and  after  paying  him  in 
tobacco,  flour,  and  several  small  articles,  we  hastened  down 
the  bay  as  fast  as  the  little  launch  could  run." 

August  27th  found  the  Corwin  returning  northward.  A 
short  stop  was  made  at  the  Diomedes  on  the  28th.  Over 
the  tops  of  these  islands  hung  dense,  misty  clouds,  unmoved 
by  a  sharp  northeast  gale,  which  seemed  only  to  have  the 
effect  of  producing  the  phenomena  known  as  cloud  banners. 
Among  other  things  seen  at  the  Diomedes  was  a  collection 
of  ivory  carvings — toys,  spinning-tops,  chairs,  etc.  As  the 
boat  approached  shore  a  number  of  girls  stopped  playing, 
and  sat  their  dolls  up  in  a  row,  so  that  they  might  get  a 
good  look  at  the  strangers. 

At  noon,  on  the  30th  of  August,  the  blue  peaks  of  Wran- 


AN    ESQUIMAUX  LONG  BRANCH.  £3 

gel  Land  were  again  in  view ;  but  progress  toward  them 
was  stopped  by  ice  when  twenty  miles  distant  from  land. 
During  the  night  the  Corwin  stood  along  the  ice-pack,  and 
the  next  morning  found  her  hove  to  off  Herald  Island.  A 
fierce  gale  was  blowing,  during  which  the  iron  ice-breaker 
was  lost ;  and  as  the  oak  sheathing  was  entirely  gone  around 
the  bows'  (leaving  nothing  to  break  ice  with  but  three-and- 
one-half-inch  Oregon  fir  plank),  it  was  not  deemed  prudent 
to  venture  into  the  ice  again.  The  gale  lasted  several  days, 
and,  after  it  had  subsided,  the  Corwin  cruised  leisurely  east- 
ward, into  the  vicinity  of  Kotzebue  Sound. 

Near  the  entrance  of  Hotham  Inlet  is  an  Esquimaux  Long 
Branch,  where  the  natives  resort  in  summer  for  trade  and 
pleasure,  and  about  six  hundred  were  there  assembled  when 
the  Corwin  arrived. 

"  Here  the  Captain  and  the  Herald  correspondent,  enter- 
ing into  competition  with  the  natives  in  several  kinds  of 
,' athletics,  and  coming  out  ahead,  were  invited  to  shoot  with 
a  bow  and  arrow  at  a  mark  which  had  been  missed  several 
times.  It  was  not  an  archery  club,  composed  of  young 
ladies  and  spooney  men,  against  which  we  had  to  contend, 
but  the  real  live,  primitive  man,  who  procured  his  dinner  by 
means  of  the  spear  and  feathered  shaft.  So  the  captain, 
resolving  himself  into  a  toxopholite,  and  pulling  himself 
together  for  a  mighty  effort,  discharged  his  arrow,  and, 
through  pure  accident,  succeeded  in  driving  it  into  the  tar- 
get the  first  shot — of  course  refusing  to  shoot  a  second 
time — to  the  great  surprise  of  the  unsuspecting  bystand- 
ers." 

On  the  14th  of  September  the  voyagers  left  the  Arctic 
sea  and  started  for  home.  At  St.  Michaels  they  were  obliged 
to  take  on  board  the  already  over-crowded  ship  a  party  of 
shipwrecked  men,  who,  after  twenty-one  days  of  privation, 
had  reached  St.  Michaels  from  Golovin  Bay.  On  the  21st 
of  October  they  arrived  at  Sari  Francisco. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SEARCHES  FOR  THE  JEANNETTE— 1881. 

(SUMMEK  CRUISE  OP  THE   RODGER8.) 

ON  the  16th  day  of  June,  1881,  two  United  States  steam- 
ships, commanded  and  manned  by  officers  and  seamen 
of  the  United  States  navy — all  of  whom  had  volunteered 
for  the  perilous  service — started  north  to  join  in  the  search 
for  DeLong.  One  of  them — the  Alliance — went  from  Nor- 
folk navy  yard,  on  the  Atlantic,  and  the  other  one — the 
Rodgers — steamed  out  through  the  Golden  Gate  of  the 
Pacific  coast. 

Only  three  months  before  her  departure,  the  Rodgers  was 
known  in  San  Francisco  as  the  Mary  and  Helen,  a  staunch' 
and  ice-tried  steam-whaler  of  420  tons.  She  was  built  in 
Bath,  Maine,  in  1879,  was  bark  rigged,  and  carried  a  great 
spread  of  canvas.  Her  length  was  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
five  feet,  breadth  of  beam  thirty  feet,  depth  sixteen  feet. 
She  was  bought  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  1100,000, 
and  re-named  the  Rodgers,  in  compliment  to  the  distin- 
guished naval  officer  who  was  the  president  of  the  Jeannette 
Relief  Board. 

The  Rodgers  was  overhauled  and  strengthened  at  the  navy 
yard,  Mare  Island,  and  ample  provisions  and  supplies  for  her 
own  crew  during  a  long  voyage,  and  for  the  relief  of  any  ship- 
wrecked seamen  who  might  be  fallen  in  with,  were  taken  on 
board.  The  command  of  the  expedition  was  given  to  Lieut. 
Robert  M.  Berry,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  an  officer  in  whom 
the  Navy  Department  had  the  greatest  confidence.'  All  of 
the  officers,  as  well  as  the  crew,  were  volunteers  ;  and,  as 
on  previous  occasions,  when  bold  and  hazardous  services 
have  been  required  of  our  naval  officers,  it  was  difficult  for 

(54) 


CRUISE   OP   THE   EODGERS.  56 

the  Department  to  make  a  selection  out  of  the  many  gallant 
men  who  volunteered  for  this  adventurous  expedition. 
The  officers  and  crew  of  the  Rodgers  were  as  follows: 

Lieutenant  Robert  M.  Berry,  Commander. 

Master  Howard  S.  Waring,  Master  Charles  F.  Putnam. 

Ensigns,  Henry  J.  Hunt,  George  M.  Stoney. 

Surgeons,  Meredith  D.  Jones,  Joaquin  D.  Castillo. 

Engineer,  Abraham  V.  Zane.     Pay  Clerk,  W.  H.  Gilder. 

H.  P.  DeTracey,  Joseph  F.  Quirk,  W.  F.  Morgan,  Frederick  Bruch, 
Joseph  Hodgson,  W.  Rohde,  Frank  Burk,  Hans  Schumann,  Fred  Smith, 
Patrick  Cahill,  George  Gardner,  S.  W.  Morrison,  Richard  Bush,  Julius 
Huebner,  Jacob  Johansen,  Thomas  Loudon,  Frank  McShane,  Frank  F. 
Melm,  Olaf  Petersen,  Otto  Polte,  Owen  McCarthy,  W.  H.  Derring, 
Edward  O'Leary. 

Dominic  Booker,  steward.    Robert  Morelli,  Wm.  Grace,  cooks. 

Mr.  Gilder,  the  pay  clerk,  who  was  also  the  special  corres- 
pondent of  the  New  York  Herald,  accompanied  Lieutenant 
Schwatka  on  his  overland  journey  in  King  William's  Land 
in  1879,  and  was  the  historian  of  that  expedition.  Frank 
F.  Melm  was  also  a  member  of  Schwatka's  party.  The 
crew  were  fine-looking,  hardy  men,  and  most  of  them 
crossed  the  continent  by  railroad  to  join  the  expedition. 

A  short  time  before  starting  on  his  voyage  Lieutenant 
Berry  received  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Hunt,  Secreta- 
ry of  the  Navy,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract :  — 

"  In  the  pursuit  of  your  adventurous  and  arduous  voyage 
you  carry  with  you  the  sympathy  and  entire  confidence  of 
the  department.  Nothing  that  can  be  done  to  contribute  to 
your  well-being  and  success  shall  be  omitted.  As  soon  as  you 
are  fully  ready  you  will  sail. 

"  The  eyes  of  your  fellow  countrymen,  of  the  scientific 
men  of  all  the  world,  and  especially  of  those  interested  in 
Arctic  explorations,  will  follow  you  anxiously  on  your  way 
through  the  unknown  seas  to  which  you  go.  May  Heaven 
guard  and  bless  you  and  your  officers  and  men,  and  crown 
your  heroism  with  success  and  glory." 

The  Rodgers  was  escorted  out  to  sea  by  a  fleet  of  pleasure 
yachts,  steamboats,  and  tugs.  Thousands  of  eager  specta- 


56  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

tors  witnessed  her  departure,  waving  handkerchiefs  and  giv- 
ing cheers,  while  the  whistles  of  the  steamers  in  the  harbor 
and  factories  along  the  shore  sounded  out  their  noisy 
farewell. 

On  the  27th  of  June  the  Rodgers  was  on  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  one  thousand  miles  from  San  Francisco.  "  On  the 
29th,"  wrote  a  correspondent,  "  we  sighted  Ounalaska's  high 
mountains,  and  on  the  next  day  passed  within  fifty  miles  of 
Umnak,  and  saw  the  peak  of  its  snow-crested  volcano,  5,000 
feet  high,  burst  through  a  cloud  and  tinged  with  the  glory  of 
the  setting  sun.  It  was  a  gorgeous  spectacle.  Near  it  we 
saw  the  smoke  arising  from  one  of  the  burning  volcanoes  of 
the  Four  Mountains.  The  following  day  we  passed  into 
Bering's  Sea. 

"  On  the  14th  of  July  we  crossed  the  180th  meridian,  and 
were  in  east  longitude.  Here  is  where  the  mariner  takes 
up  one  day  when  sailing  toward  the  west,  or  drops  one  if 
going  east.  As  we  were  to  recross  the  same  meridian  in  a 
few  days,  Lieutenant  Berry  concluded  that  we  might  as  well 
retain  our  old  reckoning.  The  only  difference  it  made  was 
that  we  found  the  religious  people  of  Petropavlovsk  holding 
service  on  Saturday  instead  of  Sunday,  and  we  were  con- 
stantly in  doubt  as  to  whether  to-day  was  really  to-day  or  to- 
morrow." 

The  Rodgers  arrived  at  Petropavlovsk  July  19th,  and 
found  anchored  there  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company's 
steamer  Alexander,  Captain  Sandman,  arid  the  Russian 
corvette,  the  Strelock,  commanded  by. Captain  DeLivron. 
DeLivron  informed  Lieutenant  Berry  that  he  had  been  di- 
rected to  assist  the  searchers  for  the  Jeannette  in  every  way 
in  his  power;  and  during  the  stay  of  the  Rodgers  the  Rus- 
sians extended  to  her  officers  the  most  cordial  hospitality. 
At  this  place  a  native  was  hired  as  dog-driver,  and  forty- 
seven  dogs  were  taken  on  board,  whose  howls  for  many 
hours  afterward  were  something  to  be  remembered  by  all 
who  heard  them. 

Petropavlovsk  (Ports  of  Peter  and  Paul)  is 'the  capital  oi 


PETROPAVLOVSK. 


57 


the  Kamchatdales,  and  the  only  town  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
the  Kamchatka  peninsula.  It  is  situated  on  the  right  shore 
of  the  splendid  Bay  of  Avatcha,  which  may  claim,  with  that 
of  San  Francisco,  to  be  one  of  the  finest  harbors  in  the  world. 
This  little  town  of  500  inhabitants  points  with  pride  to  its 
two  monuments  of  Bering  and  La  Perouse ;  and  its  old  forti- 
fications, now  covered  with  grass  and  flowers,  serve  to  recall 
the  defeat  of  the  English  and  French  allies,  who  attacked 
the  village  during  the  Crimean  war. 


REPULSE  OF  THE  ALLIES. 

It  was  from  Avatcha  Bay  that  Captain  Titus  Bering,  the 
first  Russian  navigator  of  the  strait  which  bears  his  name, 
sailed,  in  June,  1741,  on  his  last  voyage.  After  discovering 
the  American  coast,  and  the  magnificent  peak  which  he 
named  Mount  St.  Elias,  scurvy  broke  out  among  his  crew, 
and  his  ship  drifted  about  at  random  until  November,  when 
it  was  wrecked  on  the  uninhabited  island  which  still  bears 
his  name.  Bering  and  many  of  his  men  died  on  this  island. 


58 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


in  December,  and  the  survivors,  thanks  to  the  invincible  en- 
ergy and  sanguine  disposition  of  Steller,  the  physician  of  the 
expedition,  escaped  to  Kamchatka,  the  next  summer,  in  a 
little  ship  which  they  built  from  the  wreck  of  the  St.  Paul. 
Bering  Island  lies  to  the  northeast  of  Avatcha  Bay,  and, 
together  with  Copper  Island  and  some  small  islands  and 
rocks  lying  round  about,  forms  a  peculiar  group  of  islands, 
separated  from  the  Aleutian  Islands  proper,  named,  after  the 
rank  of  the  great  seafarer  who  perished  there,  Commander's 
Islands.  Though  belonging  to  Russia,  the  American  Alaska 


SLAUGHTER  OF  SEA-BEARS. 

Company  has  acquired  the  right  of  hunting  there,  and  main- 
tains on  the  main  islands  two  commercial  stations,  which 
supply  the  inhabitants,  several  hundred  in  number,  with 
provisions  and  supplies  ;  the  company  buying  of  them  in  ex- 
change, furs  —  principally  the  skin  of  an  eared-seal  (the  sea- 
cat  or  sea-bear),  of  which  from  20,000  to  50,000  are  killed 
annually  in  this  region.  Some  Russian  officials  are  also  set- 
tled on  the  island,  to  guard  the  rights  of  Russia,  and  pre- 
serve order. 

Leaving  Petropavlovsk,  July  24th,  the  vessels  in  the  har- 


59 

bor  dipping  their  flags  as  a  parting  salute,  the  Rodgers 
headed  for  St.  Michael's,  Alaska,  and  came  to  anchor  toward 
night,  August  3d,  under  the  shelter  of  Stuart  Island,  in  Nor- 
ton Sound,  to  wait  for  daylight,  as  the  wind  was  blowing  a 
gale,  and  the  sea  was  running  high. 

"The  next  morning,"  wrote  the  Herald  correspondent, 
"  we  got  under  way  and  steamed  slowly  on  our  course,  in  a 
dismal  rain  and  fog.  The  lead  was  kept  going  constantly, 
the  quartermaster  calling  in  a  dreary,  monotonous  voice  the 
depth  of  water  found  at  each  cast  of  the  lead.  Again  we 
were  compelled  to  drop  anchor  on  account  of  shallow  water 
and  the  concealment  of  the  few  known  landmarks  under  the 
mist.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  fog  lifted  a  little,  and  we 
could  see  the  small  settlement  of  St.  Michael's  about  seven 
miles  distant,  and  shortly  afterward  dropped  anchor  beyond 
the  point  of  land  that  forms  a  shelter  for  the  harbor,  a  few 
antiquated  iron  guns  bellowing  forth  a  salute.  The  fort  of 
St.  Michael's,  as  it  is  called,  is  an  enclosure  of  dwellings  and 
warehouses,  the  interstices  filled  with  a  high  wooden  fence, 
that  was  originally  erected  as  a  protection  against  the  as- 
saults of  hostile  Indians.  The  fence  of  the  present  day  is, 
however,  maintained  rather  as  a  shelter  against  the  wind 
than  to  guard  against  savages." 

From  St.  Michael's  Lieutenant  Berry  crossed  over  to 
Plover  Bay,  Siberia,  and  then  proceeded  north  to  St.  Law- 
rence Bay,  where  he  found  the  Strelock  anchored  in  the 
harbor.  After  taking  on  board  two  Chukches,  as  hunters 
and  dog-drivers,  the  Rodgers  again  started  north  August 
19th,  accompanied  by  the  Russian  corvette.  The  next  day 
was  stormy,  and  the  wind  blowing  so  hard  that  it  was  diffi- 
cult to  make  any  headway  against  it.  The  Strelock  was 
seen  working  in  shore,  but  was  soon  lost  sight  of,  and  was 
seen  no  more  by  the  crew  of  the  Rodgers. 

The  following  morning  was  clear  and  pleasant,  and  Cape 
Serdae  Kamen  so%n  appeared  in  view.  "  When  we  came 
near  the  land,"  says  the  correspondent,  "  a  skin  boat  filled 
with  Chukches  came  alongside  for  the  purpose  of  trading. 


60 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


They  took  us  to  a  place  which  proved  to  be  Kolyutschin 
Island  and  bay,  where  there  is  a  large  Chukches  settlement. 
The  village  consisted  of  seven  large  circular  dome-like 
tents,  of  about  twenty  feet  in  diameter,  made  of  seal-skins 
sewed  together,  and  supported  by  an  intricate  arrangement 


CHUKCHES  BOATS. 

of  poles  of  drift-wood.  On  the  side  opposite  the  entrance 
were  arranged  three  or  four  sleeping  apartments,  shut  off 
from  the  main  tent  and  each  other  by  curtains  of  reindeer 
skins.  These  were  the  separate  tenements  of  as  many  fam- 
ilies, the  savage  semblance  of  flats  in  an  apartment-house. 
The  skin  drapery  of  several  of  these  rooms  was  raised,  and 
upon  the  beds,  which  were  also  of  reindeer  skins  and  cov- 
ered the  entire  floor  of  each,  sat  women  engaged  in  house- 
hold duties  or  attending  to  the  wants  of  a  colony  of  dirty, 
half  nude  children. 

"  We  sailed  the  same  evening  for  Herald  Island,  and  at 
seven  P.  M.,  August  23d,  obtained  our  first  view  of  Cape 
Hawaii,  Wrangel  Island,  about  twelve  miles  distant  to  the 
northwest,  with  the  ice  extending  about  ten  miles  off  the 
shore.  The  next  morning  both  Wrangel  Island  and  Herald 
Island  were  in  plain  sight,  and  we  arrived  off  the  latter  at 


EXPLORATION    OF   WRANGEL   ISLAND.  61 

noon  the  same  day.  A  boat  was  sent  on  shore  to  search  for 
tidings  of  the  Jeannette  and  missing  whalers.  An  examin- 
ation of  the  western  extremity  of  the  island  was  made,  and 
the  remainder  scanned  from  the  summit  of  the  highest  land 
with  glasses  without  discovering  any  traces. 

"The  island  was  found  to  be  a  narrow  ridge,  between  five 
and  six  miles  long,  and  not  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide  at 
the  base.  The  crest  of  the  western  half  of  the  island  was 
so  narrow  that  one  could  straddle  it,  while  the  eastern  por- 
tion was  lower  and  more  rounded  at  the  top.  The  island  is 
not  more  than  about  six  hundred  feet  high  at  the  highest 
point,  but  from  it,  the  atmosphere  being  perfectly  clear,  we 
could  see  a  long  distance.  Wrangel  Island  was  in  plain 
view,  but  no  land  could  be  seen  to  the  northward  of  it  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

"  After  the  return  of  the  boat  we  steamed  along  the  south- 
ern shore  of  the  island  without  discovering  any  cairn,  and 
then  headed  for  Cape  Hawaii.  We  sighted  the  cape  at  ten 
A.  M.,  August  25th,  and  shortly  after  made  the  ice  along  the 
starboard  beam,  densely  packed ;  skirted  it,  and  at  four  P.  M. 
discovered  from  the  masthead  a  lead,  and  followed  it  in. 
At  ten  P.  M.,  having  passed  through  about  ten  miles  of  ice, 
we  dropped  anchor  about  half  a  mile  from  shore  in  six  fath- 
oms of  water.  Two  boats  were  lowered  at  once,  and  sev- 
eral of  the  officers  landed  on  a  low,  gravelly  beach,  and  gave 
three  hearty  cheers,  which  were  responded  to  by  those  on 
board.  Two  sky-rockets  were  sent  aloft,  and  when  the  party 
returned,  one  of  the  officers  cut  a  Christmas  cake  in  honor 
of  the  event." 

Early  the  next  morning,  26th,  a  boat  was  sent  in  to  exam- 
ine a  lagoon  which  had  been  seen  by  the  landing  party,  and 
at  its  mouth  was  found  an  excellent  small  harbor.  The  ves- 
sel was  moored  in  this  harbor,  and  preparations  made  for 
the  exploration  of  the  island. 

Three  search  parties  were  organized.  Lieutenant  Berry, 
Surgeon  Jones,  and  four  men  were  to  proceed  overland  to 
the  northern  coast;  Master  Waring  was  to  go  north  in  a 


62 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


whale-boat  and  skirt  the  eastern  coast;  and  Ensign  Hunt, 
with  a  whale-boat,  was  to  explore  the  southern  coast.  The 
boat  parties  were  provided  with  fifteen  days'  provisions,  and 
instructed  to  encircle  the  island  if  possible.  The  three  par- 
ties got  off  August  27th,  between  three  and  four  P.  M.5  and 
three  cheers  were  given  by  those  remaining  on  board  as 
each  one  left  the  ship's  side  and  started  upon  its  separate 
route. 


INTERVIEWING  A  DENIZEN  OF  WRANGEL  ISLAND. 

The  vessel  was  left  in  charge  of  Master  Putnam,  who  was 
also  intrusted  with  the  magnetic  observations,  assisted  by 
Ensign  Stoney,  to  whom  was  assigned  the  task  of  surveying 
the  harbor  and  adjacent  coast  lines. 

"The  next  day,  Sunday,  the  28th  of  August,"  says  the 
correspondent,  "was  one  of  the  most  delightful  days  ever 
experienced  in  this  land  of  storms. 

"  About  six  o'clock,  September  3d,  we  were  about  to  sit 


A   BEAR   HUNT.  63 

down  to  dinner,  when  two  white  objects  were  seen  on  the 
mainland  near  the  shore,  which  the  glass  showed  to  be  a  she 
bear  and  her  cub.  In  a  short  time  the  dingy  was  lowered, 
and  two  of  the  officers  jumped  in,  armed  with  rifles,  and 
were  rowed  ashore  against  a  strong  gale.  When  the  boat 
struck  the  beach  all  jumped  ashore  and  started  in  pursuit, 
headed  by  Mr.  Tracey,  the  carpenter,  who,  though  drenched 
to  the  skin  in  effecting  a  landing,  abated  not  his  energy  in 
the  chase.  After  going  several  miles  with  little  prospect  of 
coming  up  with  the  game,  all  returned  to  the  ship  except 
the  carpenter,  who,  pointing  ahead  and  shouting, '  Excelsior/ 
kept  up  the  pursuit.  Success  attended  his  efforts,  and  he 
returned  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  after  traveling  about  ten 
miles  and  killing  both  bears." 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  same  night  a  voice  from  the  sand 
spit  hailed  the  ship,  and  was  recognized  through  the  howling 
of  the  gale  as  that  of  Captain  Berry,  who  had  just  returned 
from  his  inland  journey.  He  was  accompanied  by  one  of 
the  men,  and  said  the  others  of  his  party  were  suffering 
from  lame  feet,  and  had  lagged  behind.  A  boat  crew,  in 
charge  of  Mr.  Hodgson,  pulled  to  the  beach  and  started  to 
find  the  wayfarers.  A  severe  snow  storm  and  hard  gale 
tended  to  make  the  search  a  difficult  one ;  but  they  returned 
at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  with  two  of  the  men  (Dom- 
inic and  Petersen),  who  were  found  sleeping  about  five  miles 
from  the  ship. 

As  nothing  had  yet  been  seen  of  Dr.  Jones,  Ensign  Stoney, 
with  a  boat's  crew,  landed  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  some  four 
miles  from  the  ship,  and  searched  the  shores  for  several 
miles  in  each  direction.  They  got  back  to  the  ship  in  the 
afternoon.  Meantime  Dr.  Jones,  accompanied  by  Melms, 
had  reached  the  harbor  and  been  taken  on  board  ship.  He 
had  passed  the  night  without  much  discomfort,  under  a  shel- 
ter which  Melms  had  constructed. 

Lieutenant  Berry  had  reached  a  point  about  twenty  miles 
inland,  where,  from  a  mountain  2,500  feet  high,  he  was  ena- 
bled to  see  open  water  entirely  around  the  island,  except 


64  THE    JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

between  west  and  south-southwest,  where  his  view  was 
obstructed  by  a  high  range  of  mountains,  which,  however, 
appeared  to  terminate  the  land  in  that  direction.  The  inte- 
rior, was  found  to  be  entirely  devoid  of  animal  life  and  of 
other  plants  than  those  growing  near  the  coast.  Two  ridges 
of  mountains  followed  the  trend  of  the  northern  and  south- 
ern shores,  between  which  a  rolling  country  existed,  trav- 
ersed by  small  streams,  evidently  fed  by  the  melting  snow 
from  the  mountains. 

Master  Waring  was  accompanied  on  his  expedition  by  Dr. 
Castillo  and  a  crew  of  five  seamen.  He  started  off  toward 
the  east  with  a  breeze  which  sent  him  swiftly  along  under 
reefed  mainsail;  but  the  wind  soon  died  out,  and  he 
encamped  on  shore  for  the  night.  After  rounding  Cape 
Hawaii,  the  following  morning,  28th,  he  pulled  up  to  a  small 
island  near  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  where  were  the  skeletons 
of  a  whale  and  walrus.  "His  attention  was  attracted  by 
some  pieces  of  wood  sticking  up  in  the  sand,  evidently  by 
intention^  and  he  then  noticed  footprints  leading  to  the  cliff 
near  by.  Following  them,  he  came  upon  a  flag-staff,  from 
which  drooped  what  appeared  to  be  a  United  States  flag, 
and  attached  to  the  staff  was  a  bottle  containing  documents 
which  had  been  left  by  the  officers  of  the  Corwin." 

After  leaving  copies  of  the  originals,  which  were  brought 
away,  Waring  continued  on,  and  in  the  afternoon  "  rounded 
a  point  marked  by  a  perpendicular  column  of  rock  about  one 
hundred  feet  high.  Here  heavy  pack  ice  was  encountered, 
extending  as  far  to  the  eastward  as  he  could  see.  Near  the 
shore  it  was  somewhat  broken,  and  permitted  his  advance 
through  a  narrow  channel  where  only  short  paddles  could  be 
used.  At  a  quarter  to  six  o'clock  the  ice  drew  so  close  that 
he  was  compelled  to  haul  up  on  the  beach  and  encamp  for 
the  night.  The  next  day,  29th,  the  ice  still  held  him,  and, 
accompanied  by  Dr.  Castillo,  he  scrambled  to  the  top  of  a  hill 
north  of  his  camp,  from  which  his  eyes  were  rewarded  by 
observing  the  trend  of  the  coast  toward  the  west.  This  he 
found  to  be  the  extreme  northeast  cape,  and  no  land  could 


MASTER  WAEING'S  ADVENTURES.  65 

« 

be  seen  to  the  northward.  Toward  the  west  the  land  was 
low  near  the  water,  and  ran  out  in  long,  low  points,  forming 
deep  bays,  which  held  the  ice  packed  in  dense  masses  against 
the  shore. 

"  The  following  morning  the  weather  was  clear,  and  Her- 
ald Island  appeared  in  plain  view  from  the  beach.  By  nine 
o'clock  the  ice  opened  sufficiently  to  allow  the  boat  to  move 
slowly  by  the  aid  of  paddles,  and,  after  six  hours'  hard 
work,  they  had  rounded  the  cape,  and  made  about  five  miles 
to  the  westward. 

"  At  five  o'clock  another  effort  was  made  to  proceed,  but 
after  laboring  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  narrowly  escaping 
being  crushed  by  two  large  masses,  by  backing  out  from  be- 
tween them  just  as  they  came  together  with  a  force  that  no 
boat  could  have  withstood,  a  narrow  lead  let  them  in  to  the 
beach.  Within  five  minutes  after  they  landed  not  a  vestige 
could  be  seen  of  the  opening  by  which  they  had  so  narrowly 
escaped.  Nothing  but  a  grinding  and  crunching  sea  of  ice 
met  the  view." 

The  next  day,  30th,  opened  with  a  strong  northerly  wind 
and  flurries  of  snow.  The  ice  remained  densely  packed 
against  the  shore  opposite  the  camp,  and  a  reconnoissance 
along  the  beach  showed  that  it  was  in  the  same  condition 
both  to  the  northward  and  westward. 

September  1st  was  a  gloomy  day  for  the  party  ;  no  move- 
ment of  the  ice  occurred  to  indicate  the  liberation  of  the 
boat,  and  its  abandonment  and  a  march  overland  to  the  ship 
seemed  the  only  alternative. 

Early  the  next  morning  a  party  went  westward  about  fif- 
teen miles  to  a  point  from  which  they  could  see  the  land 
trending  to  the  south  and  west.  Preparations  were  made 
fer  abandoning  the  boat,  which  was  hauled  high  up  on  the 
beach  and  turned  bottom  side  up.  The  boat  mast  was 
erected  on  a  neighboring  hill,  and  a  record  deposited  indi- 
cating the  route  taken  by  the  retreating  crew. 

"  A  dismal  snow  storm  was  prevailing  when,  at  five  o'clock 
5 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

on  the  morning  of  the  3d  inst.,  they  started  upon  their 
journey.  It  was  intensely  cold,  and  the  wind  blowing  in 
squalls.  Their  course  was  directed  toward  the  eastern  coast, 
where  they  could  find  shelter  behind  the  hills,  and  driftwood 
from  which  to  make  a  fire  and  cook  some  food  on  reaching 
camp  at  night.  The  traveling,  with  heavy  loads  on  their 
backs,  was  intensely  disagreeable,  while,  to  add  to  their  dis- 
comfort, the  snow  changed  to  rain,  which  drenched  their 
clothes  and  increased  the  weight  of  their  burdens.  The 
route  lay  over  a  series  of  hills,  which  were  very  fatiguing  to 
men  unaccustomed  to  land  journeys.  At  night  they  rested 
only  a  few  hours,  when  it  was  too  dark  to  see  to  travel. 

"  As  soon  as  it  was  sufficiently  light  to  see,  they  started 
again,  with  sore  and  stiffened  limbs,  and  feet  torn  by  the 
sharp  stones  that  covered  the  ground.  At  seven  A.  M.  they 
reached  the  beach,  where  a  rousing  fire  was  started  and  a 
hot  breakfast  prepared,  which  put  new  life  into  the  weary 
travelers,  and  then,  through  the  snow  and  rain,  they  plodded 
until  reaching  the  head  of  the  bay,  where  they  were  over- 
joyed to  find  a  boat,  which  hacl  gone  there  to  bring  in  the 
skins  of  Mr.  Tracey's  bears.  An  hour  later  they  were 
welcomed  on  board  ship. 

"Almost  at  the  same  time  that  Waring  started  toward  the 
east  with  a  fair  wind,  Ensign  H.  J.  Hunt  pulled  away  upon 
his  course  to  the  westward.  He  was  accompanied  by  En- 
gineer Zane,  and  his  crew  consisted  of  five  men.  It  was 
hard  pulling  against  the  wind,  and  at  nine  o'clock,  when  he 
encamped  for  the  night,  he  was  not  more  than  about  nine 
miles  from  the  harbor.  The  oars  were  brought  into  requi- 
sition the  following  day,  but  the  progress  was  not  very 
rapid. 

"  During  the  day  they  saw  what  looked  like  a  cairn  upon 
the  beach,  and  Hunt  landed  to  examine  it.  His  praiseworthy 
curiosity  came  near  bringing  him  into  trouble,  however,  for 
he  found  himself  within  about  six  feet  of  a  huge  polar  bear 
taking  a  siesta,  before  he  was  aware  of  it.  As  the  ponder- 
ous brute  raised  his  head  and  turned  toward  the  intruder, 


ENSIGN   HUNT'S   EXPEDITION.  67 

they  gazed  at  each  other  in  a  dazed  sort  of  way  for  a  few 
minutes,  when  Hunt  cut  short  the  interview  by  facing  about 
and  starting  for  the  boat  at  a  marvelous  speed,  shouting 
loudly  for  his  rifle.  In  the  meantime  the  bear  arose  in  a 
dignified  and  leisurely  manner,  and  slowly  walked  toward 
the  sea,  when  Hunt  sent  a  bullet  through  him  that  caused 
him  to  turn  again  for  the  beach ;  another  shot  brought  him 
to  the  ground,  and  a  third  so  disabled  him  that  Johansen  ran 
up  and  gave  him  the  coup  de  grace  with  the  muzzle  of  his 
rifle  at  the  animal's  ear. 

"The  third  day  out  they  rounded  the  southwest  point  of 
the  island,  and  their  course  lay  somewhat  east  of  north. 
The  wind  was  strong  and  carried  away  their  main  boom. 
Plenty  of  ice  was  encountered  the  next  day,  and,  though 
working  hard,  they  only  succeeded  in  making  about  four 
miles  upon  their  course  by  paddling  and  hauling.  Next  day 
they  could  only  proceed  by  towing  along  shore  and  cutting 
a  way  through  the  ice,  and  were  finally  compelled  to  tie  up 
in  lee  of  a  large  piece  of  ice  and  bail  out.  They  had  finally, 
however,  accomplished  about  four  miles  after  a  hard  day's 
work.  Day  after  day  this  labor  was  repeated  until  they 
reached  the  northern  point  of  the  island,  where  they  en- 
countered a  succession  of  sand  spits  running  toward  the 
north  and  east  beyond  the  mainland,  and  with  miles  of  open 
water  between,  which  proved  to  be  only  shallow  lagoons, 
where  they  constantly  grounded,  and  extricated  themselves 
with  difficulty.  In  some  instances  the  spits  extended  be- 
tween twenty  and  twenty-five  miles  from  the  land. 

"  September  5th,  they  reached  the  most  northerly  point 
of  Wr angel  Island,  and  could  distinctly  see  the  northeast 
cape  bearing  to  the  southward  and  eastward  of  their  posi- 
tion ;  but  the  same  heavy  pack  that  brought  Waring' s  party 
to  grief,  baffled  their  most  strenuous  efforts  to  encompass  the 
island.  Often,  while  working  through  the  ice,  they  found 
themselves  compelled  to  follow  leads  that  carried  them  far 
out  from  the  land,  and  closed  behind  them.  Sometimes 
midnight  found  them  still  at  their  oars,  or  wading  through 


DO  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

lagoons,  sounding  in  that  way  for  a  channel  to  reach  the 
land,  or  cross  the  water  in  the  direction  of  their  course. 

The  run  home,  when  reluctantly  enforced,  was  made  in 
five  days.  The  10th  of  September,  the  day  assigned  for  re- 
porting back,  had  passed,  and  the  day  of  grace  was  drawing 
to  a  close,  when  a  little  whale-boat  was  seen  beating  in  from 
the  south  and  west,  and  we  were  soon  cheering  the  returned 
explorers  as  they  drew  along  side.  The  result  of  their  labor 
was  perfectly  satisfactory,  as  they  had  reached  positions 
within  easy  view  of  each  other's  furthest  points,  and,  though 
110  traces  that  we  could  identify  as  of  the  Jeannette  or  the 
lost  whalers  were  found,  an  accurate  survey  had  been  made 
of  this  land,  and  its  character  ascertained.  The  necessary 
scientific  data  had  been  collected,  and  a  harbor  found  which 
may  sometime  be  of  inestimable  value  to  ice-imprisoned 
whalemen. 

Along  the  sand  spit,  near  the  Rodger's  harbor,  as  well 
as  on  the  entire  coast  of  Wrangel  Island,  is  strewn  drift- 
wood, among  which  may  often  be  found  utensils  of  wood, 
made  by  the  natives  of  the  Siberian  or  American  coast,  and 
some  are  of  very  ancient  date,  as  are  attested  by  their  ven- 
erable appearance.  A  number  of  specimens  were  gathered 
by  members  of  the  expedition  as  relics.  Among  them  can  be 
recognized  portions  of  vessels  and  articles  of  civilized  man- 
ufacture, but  whether  keeping  the  sad  tale  of  wrecks  and 
human  suffering,  or  merely  washed  from  the  deck  of  some 
passing  whaler,  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell. 

The  explorers  left  Rogers  Harbor,  September  13th,  and 
the  same  evening  visited  the  bay,  where  the  whale-boat  had 
been  left,  but  were  unable  to  get  near  the  land  owing  to 
ground  ice  and  shoal  water. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  examine  Herald  Island,  but  no 
landing  could  be  effected.  The  ship  was  then-  headed  due 
north,  and,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  ran  into  loose  ice, 
and  soon  came  up  to  a  dense  pack.  A  lead  to  the  northwest 
was  entered,  but  it  ended  in  an  impenetrable  pack,  with 
smooth,  new,  unbroken  field  ice  beyond,  as  far  as  the  eye 


IN   HIGH    LATITUDE.  (J9 

could  reach.  A  retreat  into  open  water  was  effected,  and 
the  pack  ice  was  skirted  to  the  eastward. 

On  the  17th  another  lead  was  entered,  and  the  ship  forced 
its  way  through  floating  ice  for  fifteen  miles,  when,  at  five 
p.  M.,  a  dense  pack  was  again  encountered.  As  darkness 
came  on  the  ship  was  secured  to  a  floe.  During  the  night 
the  temperature  fell  to  eight  degrees  below  freezing,  and 
new  ice,  from  one  to  three  inches  thick,  was  formed,  cement- 
ing the  floes  together. 

At  three  A.  M.,  18th,  the  ship  was  cast  loose,  and,  after 
steaming  for  more  than  an  hour  through  the  ice  which  had 
closed  around  it,  a  lead  was  reached  which  brought  the 
explorers  to  open  water.  Another  lead  was  entered  and 
followed  to  its  end  on  the  19th. 

Having  now  reached  latitude  73  deg.  44  min.  north,  longi- 
tude 171  deg.  48  min.  west,  without  discovering  any  traces 
of  land ;  and,  finding  that  the  main  pack  from  that  point 
trended  well  to  the  southeast,  Lieutenant  Berry  returned  to 
Wrangel  Land,  and,  on  the  22d,  succeeded  in  picking  up 
the  abandoned  whale-boat.  He  then  headed  to  the  north 
and  west,  and  reached  a  position,  the  latitude  of  which  is 
73  deg.  28  min.  north,  and  the  longitude  179  deg.  52  min. 
east. 

It  was  now  late  in  the  season,  and,  as  a  longer  stay  would 
have  endangered  the  ship,  Lieutenant  Berry  turned  south  to 
search  for  winter  quarters.  The  Siberian  coast  was  sighted 
just  east  of  Cape  Jakan ;  but  a  strong  northwest  wind  was 
blowing  at  the  time  and  a  heavy  sea  running,  so  that  it  was 
not  possible  to  send  a  boat  on  shore.  Berry  then  coasted  to 
the  eastward,  examining  the  shore  from  the  ship.  Toward 
evening  the  wind  freshened,  and  falling  snow  shut  out  the 
land  altogether. 

After  standing  off  from  the  coast  and  laying  to  for  forty- 
ei<rht  hours  without  any  improvement  in  the  weather,  Lieu- 
tenant Berry  gave  up  the  attempt  to  examine  the  shore  at 
that  place,  and  headed  for  Tiapka  Island,  situated  about 
twenty  miles  west  of  Cape  Serdze,  where  he  succeeded  in 


70 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


putting  up  a  house ;  and  at  this  place  he  left  Master  Putnam 
in  command  of  a  party,  consisting  of  Surgeon  Jones,  Pay- 
Clerk  Gilder,  Petersen,  Melms,  and  Constantine  Taternoff. 
The  party  was  fully  supplied  with  Arctic  clothing  and  pro- 
visions for  one  year,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  pemmican. 
They  had  also  a  boat  and  a  supply  of  dogs  and  sledges,  with 
which  they  were  expected  to  make  journeys  westward  along 
the  shore  of  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Lieutenant  Berry  and  the 
balance  of  the  officers  and  crew  left  Putnam's  winter  camp 
October  8th,  and  steamed  southeasterly  to  St.  Lawrence 
Bay,  experiencing  stormy  and  thick  weather  throughout  the 
voyage,  and  a  violent  gale  from  the  westward  on  the  13th 
and  14th.  In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  written 
at  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  October  16th,  1881,  Lieutenant  Berry 
said : — 

"  I  shall  now  proceed  to  put  the  ship  into  winter  quarters 
here,  and  render  all  as  comfortable  as  possible.  Our  provi- 
sions have  all  proved  to  be  of  excellent  quality,  and  we  are 
in  every  respect  well  provided  for  the  winter.  All  well  on 
board." 


CHAPTER  V. 

SEARCHES  FOR  THE  JEANNETTE— 1881. 
(CRUISE  OP  THE  ALLIANCE.) 

rTlHE  sending  out  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  a 
JL  United  States  ship  to  cruise  in  the  waters  of  Spitzber- 
gen  in  search  of  the  missing  expedition,  was  one  of  the 
results  of  the  labors  of  the  Jeannette  Relief  Board.  It  was 
supposed  that  if  DeLong  had  landed  on  Wrangel  Land 
and  sledged  his  way  to  the  Pole,  he  would  return  by  the 
way  of  Smith's  Sound  or  Spitzbergen,  where  he  would  be 
likely  to  meet  whalers  and  walrus-hunters  much  sooner  than 
he  would  if  he  returned  to  Wrangel  Land,  as  the  first- 
named  places  are  several  hundred  miles  the  nearest  ttf  the 
Pole.  An  expedition  in  that  direction,  to  ask  the  co-opera- 
tion of  the  whalers  and  walrus-hunters,  and  to  bring  home 
the  Jeannette's  men  if  they  were  found,  was  accordingly 
decided  on. 

The  steamship  Alliance,  having  been  designated  for  the 
service,  was  hastily  equipped  at  the  Norfolk  navy  yard,  and 
started  on  her  long  voyage  June  16th,  1881 — the  same  day  on 
which  the  Rodgers  left  San  Francisco.  Drawing  away  from 
abreast  the  famous  frigate  Kearsarge,  which  fought  the  rebel 
cruiser  Alabama  outside  Cherbourg,  she  passed  gracefully 
down  the  stream,  while  the  sailors  of  the  receiving-ship 
Franklin  and  other  war-vessels  manned  the  rigging  and 
cheered  her  adventurous  crew.  The  officers  of  the  Alliance 
were  as  follows : — 

Captain  George  H.  "Wadleigli,  Commander;  Lieutenant  C.  H.  West, 
Executive  Officer;  Lieutenant  C.  P.  Perkins,  Navigator;  Lieutenant 
Elliott,  Master  Schwenk,  Chief -Engineer  Burnap,  Surgeon  Eckstein. 

The  crew  numbered  nearly  two  hundred  men.     Mr.  Harry 

(71) 


72  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Macdonna  accompanied  the  expedition,  and  from  his  very 
interesting  letters  to  the  New  York  Herald  the  following 
account  of  the  voyage  is  principally  compiled. 

The  Alliance  touched  at  St.  Johns,  N.  F.,  and  her  officers 
there  gave  a  farewell  breakfast  to  Lieutenant  Greeley's  party, 
who  were  awaiting  transportation  to  their  station  at  Lady 
Franklin  Bay,  to  which  place  they  were  subsequently  taken 
by  the  steamer  Proteus. 

Starting  onward,  June  29th,  the  Alliance  proceeded  to 
Reykjavik,  Iceland,  and  was  the  first  American  man-of-war 
to  enter  that  harbor.  The  Icelanders  were  much  interested 
in  their  visitors,  and  particularly  so  in  the  colored  men 
among  the  crew,  several  of  whom  went  galloping  through 
the  town  on  ponies,  to  the  great  delight  of  the  youth  of  the 
ancient  capital.  "  One  of  the  negro  sailors  who  went  ashore 
became  a  victim  to  the  seductions  of  Danish  whiskey.  For 
two  days  he  was  missing,  and  the  master-at-arms  went 
ashore  and  advertised  a  reward  of  ten  dollars  for  the  lost 
man.  The  town  turned  out  to  find  him,  and  he  was  found. 
Subsequent  to  this,  every  time  a  negro  seaman  appeared  on 
shore  he  was  hunted  as  a  lost  man  or  as  an  escaped  curiosity 
from  a  museum." 

From  Iceland,  the  Alliance  went  to  Hammerfest,  Norway^ 
the  most  northern  city  of  Europe.  "Here,"  wrote  Mr. 
Macdonna,  "we  heard  of  the  shooting  of  President  Garfield. 
The  first  news  we  had  of  the  event  was  from  a  captain  who 
came  up  from  Tromsoe,  and  told  some  one  on  board  that 
the  president  was  recovering  slowly. 

"  'You  mean  the  president's  wife,  don't  you?' said  the 
party  informed.  '  She  was  quite  ill  when  we  left  the  States.' 

"  '  No ;  I  mean  the  president  himself,'  said  the  skipper, 
with  decision.  '  He  has  been  shot,  and  it  is  feared  he  may 
die.' 

"< When  was  he  shot ?  Who  shot  him?  What  for?  How 
did  it  happen  ?  Where  was  he  shot  ? '  and  a  volley  of  other 
questions  were  launched  at  the  almost  bewildered  captain, 
who  could  give  no  further  information  than  that  President 


OFF   THE   SPITZBERGEN    COAST. 


73 


Garfield  had  been  shot  by  some  one — where  he  did  not 
know,  and  for  what  he  could  not  tell.  He  had  just  one 
cheerful  fact,  that  the  President  was  recovering." 


HUT  OF  WRECKED  NORWEGIANS,  BEAR  ISLAND. 

On  the  29th  of  July  the  travelers  left  Hammerfest  and 
started  north.  On  the  second  day  out  they  sighted  Bear 
Island,  and  endeavored  to  work  around  to  the  westward  of 
it,  but  were  stopped  by  ice.  Turning  back,  they  cruised 
westward,  but  what  seemed  an  impenetrable  barrier  of  ice 
opposed  their  passage  to  the  north.  They  then  returned  to 
Bear  Island,  and  finally  made  their  way  slowly  north  to 
Spitzbergen  and  along  its  western  coast.  When  near  Horn 
Sound  they  had  their  first  view  of  the  midnight  sun.  It 
was  on  a  clear,  bright  night,  with  not  a  fleck  of  cloud  as  big 
as  a  mustard-seed  in  the  amber  sky.  In  the  clear  water 
astern,  several  white  whales  sported  about. 

"The  sun  looked  like  a  great  disk  of  molten  gold,  which 
seemed,  through  the  smoked  snow-glasses,  to  throb  and  pul- 
sate, sending  waves  of  light  from  its  center  to  its  rim. 


74 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


These  soft 'rolling, ripples  of  light  seemed  to  depart  from  the 
periphery  with  irregularity,  although  they  started  from  the 
center  as  if  a  pebble  had  been  dropped  there.  Sometimes 
they  would  depart  from  the  rim  with  the  same  regularity  as 
they  started;  and  then  again  they  seemed  to  hurry  oft'  on 
one  side  and  delay  011  the  other,  giving  the  sun,  for  an 
instant,  an  oblong  appearance.  This  midnight  sun  was  not 
alone  sensible  to  the  eye ;  one  could  feel"  its  rays,  which 
burned  the  skin  with  the  copper  warmth  of  Indian  summer 
days." 

At  Bell  Sound,  where  they  arrived  August  3d,  three  wal- 
rus-hunting schooners  were  anchored  in  the  gale  that  was 


GLACIERS  AT  BELL  SOUND. 

blowing  on  a  lee-shore,  just  in  front  of  a  magnificent  gla- 
cier; and,  viewed  across  the  bay.  they  seemed  mere  specks 
against  the  marble-white  face  of  the  towering  ice.  A  whale- 
boat  was  sent  to  one  of  them  to  deliver  circulars  respecting 
the  Jeannette;  and  then  the  Alliance  steamed  onward  to 
Green.  Bay,  Ice  Fiord,  where  a  Norwegian  steamer  and  sev- 
eral sailing  vessels  were  anchored.  Another  vessel,  which 
had  been  wrecked  only  two  days  previously,  lay  stranded  on 


A    FAIRY-LIKE   SCENE.  T5 

the  shore  near  by.  The  sunshine  was  warm  and  bright,  the 
bay  was  clear  of  ice,  and  the  mountains  around  were  decked 
in  green. 

Continuing  on  to  a  position  northwestward  of  Spitsbergen, 
the  ship  again  approached  the  ice-pack,  and  steamed  slowly 
forward  in  a  dense  fog.  As  it  grew  colder  the  fog  condensed 
on  the  ship's  rigging,  froze,  and  hung  in  fringes  of  icicles 
from  every  rope.  About  ten  P.  M.  the  fog  suddenly  disap- 
peared, and  the  soft  sunlight  illuminated  the  glistening 
fringes  of  icicles,  arid  seemed  to  change  them  into  raining 
diamonds.  The  scene  was  dazzling  and  fairy-like. 

The  ship  was  now  at  the  foot  of  the  ice-pack,  and  the 
navigator  announced  a  latitude  of  80  deg.  0  min.  55  sec. 
north,  longitude  11  cleg.  22  min.  east.  "The  effect  of  this 
news  on  a  company  of  men  who  were  informed  before  they 
left  the  States  that  they  could  not  get  to  Iceland,  and  when 
they  got  to  Iceland  were  told  they  would  never  reach  Spitz- 
bergen,  and  who  in  Norway  were  pleasantly  smiled  at  and 
told  they  would  be  back  there  again  in  a  fortnight,  was  quite 
exhilarating." 

"We  were,"  says  Mr.  Macdonna,  "in  fact,  590  geograph- 
ical miles  from  the  North  Pole ;  but  who  that  has  seen  this 
desert  of  ice,  piled  up  in  hummocks  and  forced  into  moun- 
tainous ridges  by  a  force  that  the  mind  cannot  comprehend, 
will  venture  an  opinion  as  to  the  years  of  dreary  endeavor 
yet  to  be  endured  before  man  shall  reach  that  supreme 
spot? 

"  Of  all  the  desolate  sights  the  human  eye  has  rested  on, 
this  desert  of  ice,  stretched  out  like  a  gaunt,  bleached  beg- 
gar, hand  to  heaven,  is  the  most  subduing.  Even  the  sea 
loses  its  music  as  it  beats  against  the  barrier.  It  moans 
monotonously  and  melancholy  all  the  dreary  years,  and  frets 
against  a  hydra-like  impediment  that,  in  centuries  flown, 
was  overcome  and  overcome  only  to  present  itself  again, 
season  after  season,  rejuvenated  and  incorrigible.  The 
dominion  of  the  ice  is  not  disputed  here." 

From  his  elevated  position  in  the  crow's  nest   Captain 


76  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Wadleigh  could  see  no  opening  to  the  north  or  northeast, 
and,  after  moving  up  and  down  the  edge  of  the  pack  for  a 
few  hours,  he  turned  back  and  anchored  near  Dane's  Island, 
off  the  northwest  coast  of  Spitzbergen,  August  6th.  "  Dur- 
ing the  second  day  of  the  stop  at  Dane's  Island  loud  noises 
were  constantly  heard,  which  reverberated  through  the  val- 
leys inland  and  over  the  great  interior  sea  of  ice,  until  lost 
in  the  distance.  The  first  noise  was  like  the  rattle  of  artil- 
lery, and  then  it  boomed  along  to  thunder  loudness,  and  so 
decreased  again.  Investigation  proved  that  the  noise  pro- 
ceeded from  the  great  glaciers  abutting  into  South  Gat,  and 
those  around  in  Smeerenburg  Bay,  twenty  miles  away.  The 
third  day  of  the  stop  here,  in  addition  to  other  excitements, 
afforded  one  from  danger  of  being  run  into  by  icebergs,  that 
came  rushing  down  with  the  swift  current  through  the  Gat. 

"The  Alliance  remained  in  South  Gat  until  the  12th, 
when,  having  completed  the  collecting  of  'specimens' 
and  done  much  dredging  for  deep-sea  organisms,  Com- 
mander Wadleigh  weighed  anchor  and  sailed  north  again. 
For  six  weary  days  we  groped  about  in  the  fog,  which  came 
down  upon  us  as  soon  as  we  were  off  shore,  occasionally 
meeting  great  isolated  ice-floes,  which  caused  considerable 
anxiety.  On  the  seventh  day  out — the  19th  of  August — we 
encountered  the  first  heavy  snow-storm,  accompanied  with  a 
brisk  breeze  and  considerable  floating  ice. 

"  The  21st  came  clear  and  bright,  with  a  cloudless  sky 
and  warm  sunlight,  and  from  the  crow's  nest  the  ice-pack 
could  be  seen  far  away  on  the  northern  horizon.  Com- 
mander Wadleigh  resolved  to  make  for  the  ice  again ;  and 
during  the  afternoon  we  fell  in  with  the  advance  floes  just 
south  of  the  eightieth  parallel.  Several  promising  openings 
appeared,  however,  and,  as  it  was  suggested  by  the  ice  pilot 
that  there  was  open  water  beyond  this  belt  to  the  north,  the 
captain  resolved  to  make  an  attempt  to  reach  it.  He  only 
succeeded  in  making  twelve  miles  through  the  ice,  however, 
when  the  way  was  blocked  again  by  the  solid  pack,  in  which 
not  an  opening  could  be  seen.  Far  as  the  eye  could  reach 


A   PHENOMENAL   CKUISB.  77 

to  the  northward,  one  flat,  monotonous  expanse  of  ice  was 
all  that  could  be  seen,  with  here  and  there  a  seal  or  a  walrus 
basking  in  the  sun." 

From  this  position,  in  latitude  80  deg.  10  min.  north,  Cap- 
tain Wadleigh  turned  back  and  went  to  Hammerfest  for  a 
supply  of  coal.  On  the  16th  of  September  he  again  started 
north,  and  proceeded  to  Spitzbergen,  cruising  under  sail, 
and  getting  as  far  north  as  79  deg.  36  min.  The  weather 
for  several  days  was  a  succession  of  gales,  snow,  sleet,  and 
dense  fogs.  On  the  25th  he  headed  for  Reykjavik,  and 
arrived  there  October  10th.  Five  days  later  he  started 
homeward  by  way  of  Halifax,  and  reached  New  York  in 
November. 

Mr.  Macdonna  considers  the  cruise  of  the  Alliance  the 
most  phenomenal  one  ever  made  in  the  Arctic  seas.  He 
declares  that  the  ship  was  utterly  unfit  for  the  dangerous 
work  ma'pped  out  for  her,  and  that  no  sufficient  preparation 
for  the  voyage  had  been  made — notwithstanding  which,  she 
reached  the  highest  point  ever  attained  by  a  man-of-war. 
This  success  he  regards  as  an  evidence  of  good  luck  rather 
than  anything  else,  and  he  thinks  that  experience  in  Arctic 
explorations  is  no  guarantee  against  failure.  "  If,"  he  wrote, 
"Commander  Wadleigh  had  had  a  ship  that  could  have 
withstood  the  ice,  there  is  no  doubt,  under  the  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, that  we  could  have  carried  the  American  flag 
beyond  the  eight  first  parallel  of  latitude.  Tempting  as 
was  the  chance,  Commander  Wadleigh  did  not  take  the  risk ; 
for  had  any  accident  overtaken  the  ship,  its  results  would 
have  been  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  Arctic  naviga- 
tion. Never  before  has  any  ship  with  two  hundred  souls  on 
board  ventured  so  far  north  as  the  Alliance;  and,  with  such 
a  number  to  feed,  in  case  the  ship  was  lost  and  the  crew 
compelled  to  winter,  famine  would  have  had  a  race  with 
scurvy  for  the  men  and  officers." 

In  summarizing  the  results  of  the  voyage  Captain  Wad- 
leigh says :  "  At  sea,  near  the  land  or  ice,  a  careful  watch 
has  been  kept  for  anything  that  would  throw  any  light  on 


78  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

the  object  of  the  cruise,  and  fishing  vessels  have  been  com- 
municated with  and  furnished  with  a  description  of  the 
Jeannette.  The  ship's  position  in  a  sealed  bottle  has  been 
thrown  overboard  every  day,  the  temperature  and  specific 
gravity  of  the  water  noted  every  two  hours,  and  all  observa- 
tions made  as  carefully  as  possible  with  the  means  at  our 
disposal.  Great  interest  in  the  search  has  been  shown  by 
the  officers  and  generally  by  the  crew ;  and  I  think  it  my 
duty  to  ask  the  attention  of  the  department  to  the  unusual 
expense  to  which  they  have  been  subjected.  The  ship  has- 
been  particularly  fortunate  in  having  the  services  of  Lieu- 
tenant C.  H.  West,  executive  officer,  Lieutenant  C.  P.  Per- 
kins, navigator,  and  Chief-Engineer  Burnap.  I  take  plea- 
sure in  commending  them  to  the  department  for  the  very 
efficient  manner  in  which  their  duties  have  been  performed." 


SAMOYEDES  OF  ARCHANGEL. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PLANS  FOR  AN  INTERNATIONAL  SEARCH  IN  1882. 

THE  several  United  States  expeditions  which  went  north 
to  search  for  the  Jeannette  in'  the  year  1881  had 
returned  home  or  gone  into  winter  quarters,  and  not  the 
slightest  clue  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  missing  ship  or  to 
the  fate  of  the  adventurous  men  who  sailed  in  her  so  gaily 
out  through  the  Golden  Gate  nearly  two  and  one-half  years- 
previously  had  been  discovered.  As  cold  weather  came  on 
the  thoughts  of  all  friends  of  humanity  turned  painfully 
northward,  in  sympathy  with  DcLong  and  his  men,  who,  if 
still  alive,  seemed  doomed  to  pass  a  third  weary  and  sunless, 
winter  amid  the  cold,  darkness,  and  desolation  of  the 
remorseless  frost-land  which  held  them  in  its  icy  grasp. 

Meantime  new  plans  for  solving  the  mystery  which  sur- 
rounded the  lost  explorers  were  being  projected  and  dis- 
cussed both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  it  was  felt  that,  owing 
to  the  failure  thus  far  of  all  attempts  to  gain  any  informa- 
tion respecting  them,  nothing  less  than  international  search 
could  cover  the  field. 

The  fact  that  Leigh  Hunt  had  not  returned  home  and 
might  himself  need  relief,  and  gratitude  for  the  part  taken 
by  the  United  States  in  the  search  for  Franklin,  served  to- 
intensify  the  feeling  of  the  English  people.  The  Colonial 
Department  addressed  a  letter  to  the  governors  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Company,  urging  upon  them  the  importance  of  a 
thorough  search  by  the  trappers  and  employees  of  the  com- 
pany along  the  northern  coast  of  North  America ;  and  the 
Geographical  Society  of  Great  Britain  was  actively  engaged 
in  devising  plans  for  relief  expeditions.  At  a  meeting  of 
the  society,  held  in  the  London  University,  December  12th, 
1881,  Mr.  C.  R.  Markham,  C.  B.,  spoke  as  follows:— 

(79) 


80  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

"  The  deepest  sympathy  has  been  felt  here  for  the  miss- 
ing expedition.  We  cannot  forget  the  noble  way  in  which 
Mr.  Grinnell  and  the  United  States  government  and  people 
came  forward,  not  merely  with  sympathetic  words,  but  active 
deeds,  during  the  search  for  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  ill- 
fated  but  heroic  followers.  I  was  myself  on  board  one  of 
the  English  searching  ships  that  were  moored  to  the  ice-floe 
barring  the  way  westward  on  September  10th,  1850,  and  well 
remember  our  feelings  of  grateful  admiration  when  the  two 
gallant  little  American  schooners,  the  Advance  and  Rescue, 
put  out  their  ice  anchors  alongside  us  and  remained  there 
during  a  gale  of  wind,  and  then  beat  up  through  the  fast- 
closing  ice  to  the  western  end  of  Griffith  Island,  in  company 
with  our  squadron.*  DeHaven,  Dr.  Kane,  and  the  others 
nobly  represented  the  feeling  of  their  country — that  feeling 
of  generous  sympathy  which  is  filling  our  hearts  now,  and 
making  us  as  anxious  for  news  of  the  Jeannette  as  Amer- 
icans were  then  about  the  fate  of  Franklin. 

"  The  American  people  may  be  assured  that  not  only  do 
English  geographers  feel  the  deepest  sympathy  for  the  gal- 
lant explorers  on  board  the  Jeannette,  but  that  we  shall 
gladly  and  actively  do  what  lies  in  our  power  to  make  the 
search  complete,  and  give  any  aid  that  may,  after  due  con- 

*The  Englishman's  memory  is  good,  as  the  following  extracts  from  Dr. 
Kane's  history  of  the  First  United  States  Expedition,  commanded  by 
Lieutenant  Edwin  DeHaven,  will  show.  These  extracts  are  copied  from 
"The  Frozen  Zone  and  its  Explorers,"  published  at  Hartford  : 

"September  10. — Here  we  are  again  all  together,  even  Ommanney  with 
the  rest.  The  Resolute,  Intrepid,  Assistance,  Pioneer,  Lady  Franklin, 
Sophia,  Advance,  and  Rescue;  Austin,  Ommanney,  Penny,  and  De- 
Haven,  all  anchored  to  the 'fast'  off  Griffith's  Island,  the  way  to  the 
west  completely  shut  out. 

"September  13, 10  A.  M.— We  are  literaliy  running  for  our  lives,  sur- 
rounded by  the  imminent  hazards  of  sudden  consolidation  in  an  open 
sea.  All  minor  perils,  nips,  bumps,  and  sunken  bergs,  are  discarded. 
We  are  staggering  along  under  all  sail,  forcing  our  way  while  we  can. 

"4  P.  M.— We  continued  beating  toward  Griffith's  Island,  till,  by  doub- 
ling a  tongue  of  ice,  we  were  able  to  force  our  way.  The  English  seemed 
to  watch  our  movements,  and  almost  to  follow  in  our  wake — a  compli- 
ment, certainly,  to  DeHaven's  ice-mastership." 


LOST   IN   THE   ARCTIC.  81 

sideration,  appear  likely  to  be  useful.  The  debt  of  gratitude 
which  we  owe  to  the  nation  which  sent  the  Rescue  and 
Advance  to  search  for  Franklin  can  never  be  forgotten." 

The  probability  that  DcLong  would  retreat  to  the  coast 
of  Northern  Siberia,  in  case  of  disaster  to  his  ship,  had  been 
repeatedly  affirmed  by  Mr.  George  Kennan,  author  of  "Tent 
Life  in  Siberia,"  who  has  traveled  over  four  thousand  miles 
in'  sledges  in  Northeastern  Siberia.  As  early  as  November, 
1880,  Mr.  Kennan  suggested  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
should  request  the  governor  of  Eastern  Siberia  to  take 
measures  to  have  natives  of  the  North  Siberian  coast  look 
out  for  the  Jcannettc  and  her  crew;  and,  in  subsequent  let- 
ters, he  earnestly  urged  the  importance  of  making  prepara- 
tions on  the  coast  for  the  prompt  discovery  and  relief  of  the 
Jeannette's  survivors,  in  case  thoy  landed  there. 

Lieutenant  Howgaard,  a  Danish  naval  officer  who  had 
made  the  northeast  passage  with  Nordcnskiold,  also  believed 
that  the  Jeannettc  should  be  looked  for  in  that  direction, 
and  was  actively  engaged  in  collecting  funds  to  enable  him 
to  go  over  the  track  which  he  had  sailed  in  the  Vega,  for 
the  purpose  of  searching  the  northern  coast  of  Siberia.  He 
laid  his  plans  before  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  at 
their  meeting  above  referred  to,  December  12th,  and  soon 
afterward  started  for  the  United  States  on  the  same  errand. 

"For  a  second  time,"  wrote  a  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Herald,  "in  the  history  of  polar  research,  an  expedi- 
tion is  probably  lost  in  the  Arctic.  There  is  to  be  another 
great  Franklin  search,  with  this  difference., — that  was  an 
English  and  American  search  of  a  limited  segment  of  the 
polar  circle ;  this  will  be  a  universal  search  of  the  whole 
border  of  the  *  unknown  region,'  participated  in  by  nearly  all 
the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth.  The  whole  Siberian  coast 
will  probably  be  searched  by  Captain  Berry,  Nordenskiold, 
Lieutenant  Howgaard,  and  the  Russians.  The  Russian 
international  polar  station,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  or  at 
the  New  Siberian  Islands,  will  be  very  important;  for  I 
6 


82 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


believe  De  Long  built  cairns  and  left  notice  of  his  progress 
there,  if  he  was  not  prevented  from  landing  by  heavy 
weather  or  ice.  Spitzbergen  and  Nova  Zembla  will  be  inter- 
national stations,  and  England  will  search  Franz  Josef  Land 
on  all  its  coasts  and  sounds  with  a  large  government  expe- 
dition, for  the  Jeannette  and  for  Leigh  Smith.  Five  hun- 
dred whalers,  walrus-hunters,  and  sealers  will  search  for 
the  Jeannette  at  the  edge  of  the  pack  in  all  the  seas  that 
they  frequent,  from  the  Kara  Sea  to  Spitzbergen  and  East 
Greenland,  up  Lancaster  Sound,  and  in  Bering  Sea.  Lieu- 
tenant Ray,  at  Point  Barrow,  will  probably  be  able  to  search 
half  way  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Grcely,  at  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  will  probably  go 
northwest  to  Cape  Joseph  Henry." 

Only  three  days  after  the  above  extract  was  published, 
tidings  of  the  missing  explorers  startled  the  civilized  world 
and  rendered  further  search  for  the  Jeannette  unnecessary. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FIRST  TIDINGS  FROM  THE  EXPLORERS. 

A  LMOST  two  and  one-half  years  had  elapsed  since  the 
-±\-  sailing  of  the  Jeannette,  when,  near  the  close  of  the 
year  1881,  dispatches  from  an  inland  Siberian  city,  coming 
nearly  ten  thousand  miles  by  telegraph  and  cable,  via  St. 
Petersburg,  London,  and  Paris,  were  received  by  the  New 
York  Herald,  as  follows : — 

LONDON,  December  20th,  1881. 

The  Central  News9  London  correspondent  has  called  at 
the  Herald  office,  and  has  given  us  a  copy  of  a  telegram 
from  the  Central  News'9  St.  Petersburg  correspondent,  which 
reads  as  follows : — 

"Gouverneur  Sibe*rie  Orientale  annonce  bateau  polaire 
Americain  Jeannette  trouvd.  Equipage  secouru." 

[The  Governor  of  Eastern  Siberia  announces  that  the 
American  polar  vessel  Jeannette  has  been  found,  and  that 
its  crew  has  been  saved*.] 

PARIS,  December  20th,  1881. 

Our  St.  Petersburg  correspondent  telegraphs  this  morning, 
that  General  Ignatieff  has  just  received  the  following  tele- 
gram, which  I  transcribe  literally : — 

U!RKUTSK,  Dec.  19th,  6.55  P.  M. 

"  The  Governor  of  Yakutsk  writes,  that  on  the  14th  of 
September  three  natives  of  Hagan  Oulouss  de  Zigane,  at 
Cape  Barhay,  140  versts  north  of  Cape  Bykoff,  discovered  a 
large  boat  with  eleven  survivors  from  the  shipwrecked 
steamer  Jeannette.  They  had  suffered  greatly.  The  Adjunct 
of  Chief  of  the  District  was  immediately  charged  to  proceed 
with  a  doctor  and  medicines  to  succor  the  survivors  at 
Yakutsk,  and  to  search  for  the  rest  of  the  shipwrecked 

(83) 


84  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

crew.  Five  hundred  rubles  have  been  assigned  to  meet  the 
most  urgent  expenses.  The  engineer,  Melville,  has  sent 
three  identical  telegrams, — one  addressed  to  the  London 
office  of  the  Herald,  one  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
Washington,  and  the  third  to  the  Minister  of  the  United 
States  at  St.  Petersburg.  The  poor  fellows  have  lost  every- 
thing. Engineer  Melville  says  that  the  Jeannette  was  caught 
and  crushed  by  the  ice  on  the  23d  of  June,  in  latitude  77 
degrees  north,  and  157  degrees  east  longitude.  The  sur- 
vivors of  the  Jeannette  left  in  three  boats.  Fifty  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Lena  they  lost  sight  of  each  other  during 
a  violent  gale  and  dense  fog.  Boat  No.  3,  under  command 
of  Engineer  Melville,  reached  the  eastern  mouth  of  the 
Lena  on  the  12th  of  September,  and  was  stopped  by  icebergs 
near  to  the  hamlet  of  Idolaciro-Idolatrc.  On  the  29th  of 
October  there  also  arrived  at  Bolencnga  boat  No.  1,  with  the 
sailors,  Nindermann  and  Noras.  They  brought  the  inform- 
ation that  Lieutenant  DeLong,  Dr.  Ambler,  and  a  dozen 
other  survivors,  had  landed  at  the  northern  mouth  of  the 
Lena,  where  they  are  at  present  in  a  most  distressing  state, 
many  having  their  limbs  frozen.  An  expedition  was  imme- 
diately sent  from  Bolonenga  to  make  diligent  search  for  the 
unfortunates,  who  are  in  danger  of  death.  No  news  has  as 
yet  been  received  of  boat  No.  2.  In  the  communication 
addressed  to  Mr.  Bennett,  Melville  adds  a  request  that  money 
should  be  sent  immediately,  per  telegraph,  to  Irkutsk  and 
Yakutsk.  Will  you  urgently  request  that  6,000  rubles  be 
transmitted  immediately  to  the  Governor  of  Yakutsk  for 
researches  for  the  dead  and  assistance  and  care,  as  well  as 
for  the  return  and  conveyance  of  the  shipwrecked  men  to 
the  house  of  the  governor.  There  is  a  surgeon  who  will 
bestow  upon  them  all  possible  care. 

(Signed)  PRESIDENT  PEDASCHENKI." 

LONDON,  December  22d,  1881. 

The  following  telegram  was  received  at  the  London  office 
at  twenty  minutes  past  two  this  morning :  — 


LIST   OP   THE   THREE   BOATS'    CREWS.  85 

"  IRKUTSK,  December  21st,  2:05  P.  M. 
"  Jeannette  was  crushed  by  the  ice  in  latitude  77  deg.  15 
min.  north,  longitude  157  deg.  east.-  Boats  and  sleds  made 
a  good  retreat  to  fifty  miles  northwest  of  the  Lena  River, 
where  the  three  boats  Avere  separated  in  a  gale.  The  whale- 
boat,  in  charge  of  Chief-Engineer  Melville,  entered  the  east 
mouth  of  the  Lena  River  on  September  17th.  It  was  stopped 
by  ice  in  the  river.  We  found  a  native  village,  and  as  soon 
as  the  river  closed  I  put  myself  in  communication  with  the 
Commandant  at  Bolonenga.  On  October  29th  I  heard  that 
the  first  cutter,  containing  Lieutenant  DeLong,  Dr.  Ambler, 
and  twelve  others,  had  landed  at  the  north  mouth  of  the 
Lena.  The  Commandant  at  Bolonenga  sent  instant  relief  to 
the  whaleboat  party,  who  are  all  well.  Nindermann  and  Noros 
arrived  at  Bolonenga  on  October  29th  for  relief  for  the  first 
cutter,  all  of  whom  are  in  a  sad  condition  and  in  danger  of 
starvation,  and  all  badly  frozen.  The  Commandant  at  Bolo- 
nenga has  sent  native  scouts  to  look  for  them,  and  will  urge 
vigorous  and  constant  search  until  they  are  found.  The 
second  cutter  has  not  yet  been  heard  from.  Telegraph 
money  for  instant  use  to  Irkutsk  and  Yakutsk.  The  list  of 
people  in  the  boats  is  as  follows :  — 

FIRST   CUTTER    (SAFE). 

Lieutenant  George  W.  DeLong,  Dr.  James  M.  Ambler,  Je- 
rome J.  Collins,  William  Nindermann,  Louis  Noros,  Hans 
Erickson,  Henry  Kaack,  Adolf  Dressier,  Carl  Gortz,  Walter 
Lee,  Nelse  Iverson,  George  Boyd,  Alexai,  Ah  Sam. 

SECOND    CUTTER    (MISSING). 

Lieutenant  Charles  W.  Chipp,  Captain  William  Dunbar, 
Alfred  Sweetman,  Henry  Warren,  Peter  Johnson,  Edward 
Star,  Sharvell,  Albert  Kuehne. 

WHALE   BOAT    (SAFE). 

Engineer  Geo.  W.  Melville,  Lieutenant  J.  W.  Dancnhower, 
Jack  Cole,  James  Bartlctt,  Raymond  Newcomb,  Herbert 
Leach,  George  Landerback,  Henry  Wilson,  Mansen,  Ancquin, 
Tong  Sing.  (Signed),  MELVILLE." 


86  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

A  cable  message  from  Engineer  Melville,  identical  with 
the  one  copied  above,  was  also  received  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  and  he  replied  to  it  by  cable  as  follows :  — 

u  NAVY  DEPARTMENT,         ) 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  22d,  1881.  j 
To  Engineer  MELVILLE,  U.  S.  N.,  IRKUTSK:  — 

Omit  no  effort,  spare  no  expense,  in  securing  safety  of  men 
in  second  cutter.  Let  the  sick  and  the  frozen  of  those 
already  rescued  have  every  attention,  and  as  soon  as  practi- 
cable have  them  transported  to  milder  climate.  Department 
will  supply  necessary  funds.  . 

HUNT,  Secretary." 

A  dispatch  from  Mr.  Hoffman,  charge  d'affaires  of  the 
United  States  at  St.  Petersburg,  conveying  the  news  and  the 
assurance  that  the  most  energetic  measures  would  be  taken 
by  the  Russian  authorities  for  the  discovery  and  relief  of  the 
missing  men,  was  received  by  the  Secretary  of  State  at 
Washington,  December  20th.  On  the  next  day  the  Herald 
correspondent  at  St.  Petersburg  telegraphed  as  follows :  — 

"  General  Anutschin,  the  Governor-General  of  Eastern 
Siberia,  who  happens  to  be  at  present  in  St.  Petersburg, 
having  received  information  of  the  arrival  of  the  shipwrecked 
crew  of  the  Jeannette  in  the  region  under  his  command,  im- 
mediately proceeded  to  Gatschina  and  saw  the  Emperor,  who 
personally  ordered  that  all  supplies  that  were  necessary  for 
food,  clothing,  money,  and  transportation  should  be  placed 
at  their  disposal."  General  Anutschin  also  gave  orders  by 
telegraph  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  shores  of  the  provinces 
of  Yakutsk  and  Yeniseisk  should  be  at  once  informed  of  the 
loss  of  the  Jeannette,  and  requested  to  make  active  research 
for  the  discovery  of  the  missing  shipwrecked  men. 

Messages  from  General  Pedaschenki,  subsequently  received 
by  Governor  Anustchin,  gave  assurance  that  the  search 
would  be  continued  during  the  winter  by  the  Cossack  com- 
mandants of  Bulun  and  Yakutsk,  under  direction  of  Gen. 
Tschernieff,  the  Governor  of  Yakutsk,  and  that  nothing  that 


OFFICIAL   TELEGRAMS.  87 

could  be  done  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed  seamen  would 
be  omitted. 

Immediately  upon  receipt  of  the  first  news  about  the 
Jeannette,  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett,  who  was  residing  in 
Paris  at  that  time,  transferred  the  sum  of  6000  roubles  by 
telegraph,  through  the  Messrs.  Rothschilds,  to  General  Igna- 
tieff  at  St.  Petersburg,  with  a  request  that  he  would  draw  on 
Mr.  Bennett  for  any  further  sums  required  for  the  succor 
and  comfort  of  Lieutenant  DeLong  and  his  party.  About 
the  same  time  Mr.  Bennett  received  from  General  Ignatieff 
the  following  telegram  :  — 

"Have  hastened  to  communicate  to  your  correspondent 
the  news  received  from  Yakutsk,  and  have  given  orders  to 
the  governor  to  take  the  most  energetic  measures  for  the 
rescue  of  the  shipwrecked  crew,  together  with  authority  to 
undertake  all  necessary  expenses,  for  which  I  have  promised 

to  reimburse  him. 

IGNATIEFF." 

The  following  are  copies  of  dispatches  from  the  State 
Department,  transmitted  by  cable,  to  Mr.  Hoffman,  at  St. 

Petersburg :  — 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
WASHINGTON,  December  20th,  1881. 
HOFFMAN,  Charge*,  St.  Petersburg:  — 

Tender  hearty  thanks  of  President  to  all  authorities  or 
persons  who  have  in  any  way  been  instrumental  in  assisting 
unfortunate  survivors  from  Jeannetto,  or  furnishing  informa- 
tion to  this  government. 

FRELINGHUYSEN." 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  December  23d,  1881. 
HOFFMAN,  St.  Petersburg :  — 

Convey  the  thanks  of  the  President  to  the  imperial  govern- 
ment for  its  liberal  and  generous  action  in  advancing  the 
necessary  funds  to  render  assistance  to  the  members  of  the 
Jeannette  expedition,  and  inform  Mr.  DeGiers  that  you  are 


88  THE   JEA.NNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

authorized  to  draw  on  me  to  reimburse  that  government  if  it 
will  kindly  inform  you  of  the  amount. 

FRELINQHUYSEN,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  opening  months  of  the  new  year  were  a  season  of 
painful  suspense  as  to  the  fate  of  the  gallant  commander  of  . 
the  Jeannette,  his  brave  first  officer,  and  other  missing  men 
of  the  expedition.     Briefly  stated,  about  all  that  was  known 
of  them  in  the  United  States  was  as  follows  : — 

Three  boats,  carrying  the  Jcannette's  crew,  left  Semenoff- 
ski  Island,  September  12th,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  and 
were  separated  during  a  hard  gale  when  about  fifty  miles 
from  land.  The  whale-boat  party,  commanded  by  Engineer 
Melville,  landed  near  the  east  mouth  of  the  Lena,  September 
16th,  and  on  the  26th  reached  a  native  settlement  called 
Bykoff,  where  they  had  to  wait  till  the  river  was  frozen  over 
solid  before  proceeding  south. 

On  the  29th  of  October  a  native  arrived  from  Bulun  (a 
settlement  further  south)  with  a  letter  written  by  Norosand 
Nindcrmann,  two  of  the  men  who  accompanied  Lieutenant 
DeLong  in  the  first  cutter.  This  letter  stated  that  DeLong 
had  landed  on  the  Siberian  coast  and  needed  prompt  assist- 
ance. Melville  went  to  Bulun,  where  he  saw  the  two  men, 
and  learned  that  when  they  left  their  comrades,  October  9th, 
they  were  out  of  food  and  in  a  deplorable  condition,  and  one 
of  them  had  died.  Mr.  Collins  had  volunteered  to  stay 
behind  with  the  sick  man,  but  they  had  all  kept  together. 

Mr.  Melville  immediately  procured  the  services  of  some 
natives  with  dog-sledges,  and  went  north  to  search  for  his 
distressed  comrades.  He  visited  the  place  where  the  first 
cutter  landed,  and  found  some  records  which  DeLong  had 
left  behind  as  he  retreated  slowly  south.  The  last  of  these 
records  was  dated  October  1st.  He  traced  the  party  to  the 
edge  of  a  desolate  and  uninhabited  region,  which  the  natives 
refused  to  enter,  and  was  then  obliged  to  return  to  Bulun. 
Thence  he  proceeded  to  Yakutsk,  1,200  miles  distant,  and 
after  organizing  several  search-parties  and  arranging  a  plan 


PATE   OP   LIEUTENANT   CHIPP.  89 

of  operation  he  started  to  return  north  with  two  of  his  own 
men,  Russian,  a  CossacK,  and  some  natives. 

Meantime  Lieutenant  Danenhower,  the  second  officer  of 
the  Jeaunette  Expedition  (who  had  been  relieved  of  his  com- 
mand by  DeLong  on  account  of  the  bad  condition  of  his 
eyes),  had  arrived  at  Yakutsk  with  his  eyes  badly  affected, 
and  acting  under  orders  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and 
against  his  own  wishes,  had  started  homeward  with  nine  of 
his  companions. 

It  was  apparent  that  DeLong  and  the  balance  of  his  boat's 
party  when  last  heard  of,  way  back  in  October,  were  even 
then  in  imminent  danger  of  speedy  death  from  cold  and 
starvation,  and  that  one  of  their  number  had  died  from  expo- 
sure. Nothing  had  been  heard  of  Lieutenant  Chipp,  and  it 
was  supposed  that  his  boat  with  all  on  board  had  gone  down 
in  the  gale  which  separated  him  from  his  commander,  or 
that  a  worse  fate  had  befallen  him  if  he  reached  the  land.  It 
was  just  the  time  of  year  when  the  Arctic  storms  begin  to 
sweep  down  on  the  Siberian  coast,  and  all  living  things  move 
toward  the  interior  to  escape  their  fury.  It  is  no  trifle  to  be 
thrown  on  this  coast  without  food  and  shelter  or  means  of 
transportation,  even  in  summer.  It  is  vastly  worse  in  winter, 
when  the  sea  and  river  channels  are  closing  with  ice,  and 
when  heavy  storms  and  falling  snow  obscure  the  landscape. 

Months  elapsed  before  a  tolerably  full,  connected  and  intel- 
ligible account  of  the  voyage  of  the  Jeannette,  and  of  the 
adventures  and  sufferings  of  the  survivors  of  the  expedition, 
was  received  at  home.  Meantime  the  Lena  became  a  familiar 
word  where  it  had  never  been  spoken  before,  and  its  fatal 
delta  the  subject  of  deep  interest  and  scrutiny.  During  this 
period  of  weary  waiting  the  following  verses  were  contrib- 
uted to  the  Philadelphia  Times: — 

By  Baikal's  lake,  on  wild  Siberia's  plain, 
Where  howling  blasts  from  Arctic's  frozen  main 

Sweep  over  the  arid  wastes; 
Where  zero  marks  the  mild  degrees  of  cold, 
And  man  to  live  must  be  of  native  mold, 

A  shipwrecked  boat's  crew  rests. 


90  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

By  Lena's  tide,  whose  waters  never  sleep, 
And  hyperborean  blasts  perpetual  revel  keep, 

And  cold  and  death  combine ; 
Where  nature  spreads  her  icy  mantle  o'er 
The  desert  steppes  and  wilds  forever  more, 

DeLong  and  Melville  pine. 

Two  nations  vie  in  competition  brave 
The  lost  to  trace,  the  rescued  few  to  save, 

Frost-bitten,  maimed  and  blind  ; 
Whilst  far  away,  where  western  breezes  blow, 
Where  Minnesota's  fertile  prairies  glow, 

A  woman  waits  resigned. 

A  world  looks  on  with  sad  and  anxious  gaze, 
And  Science  gropes  anew  in  troubled  maze, 

And  men  begin  to  doubt ; 

Since  Norsemen  sailed,  full  twice  five  hundred  years 
Have  rolled  away,  and  strewn  the  floes  with  tears, 

To  trace  the  pole  about. 

And  still  they  die,  and  still  the  years  roll  on  ; 
Bold  Franklin  erst,  and  now  perchance  DeLong — 

Two  of  a  burdened  roll. 

'  Fair  Science  '  mourns,  but  must  not,  cannot  stay 
In  such  a  strait,  nor  falter  in  the  way, 

Till  found  the  Northern  pole. 

Before  continuing  the  narrative,  it  will  be  well  to  saj 
something  of  the  great  Siberian  river,  which  DeLong  chose 
as  his  objective  point  on  leaving  the  New  Siberian  Islands ; 
and  of  the  Siberian  tundra,  on  whose  northern  edge  he  was 
thrown  by  the  fortunes  of  exploration  at  an  inclement  season 
of  the  year. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  SIBERIAN  TUNDRA. 

THE  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  lying  between  Nova  Zem- 
bla  and  Bering's  Strait  are  perhaps  the  most  desolate 
on  the  whole  Arctic  circle.  The  great  Siberian  rivers — the 
Obi,  the  Yenisei,  the  Lena,  the  Indigirka,  and  the  Kolyma — 
rise  in  the  Altai  Mountains,  and  flow,  in  their  upper  courses, 
through  forests  of  tall  trees.  But  before  they  reach  the  Arctic 
Ocean  they  traverse,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  a  dreary  and 
barely  habitable  region  of  frozen  deserts  and  swamps — 
great  desolate  steppes,  known  to  the  Russians  as  tundras. 

In  summer  these  tundras  are  almost  impassable  wastes  of 
brown  Arctic  moss  saturated  with  water ;  and  in  winter 
trackless  deserts  of  snow  drifted  and  packed  by  northern 
gales  into  long,  hard,  fluted  waves.  The  ground  is  frozen  to 
a  great  depth,  but  in  summer  thaws  out  for  a  distance  of 
from  two  to  three  feet. 

Nothing  can  be  more  melancholy  than  the  aspect  of  tho 
tundra,  where,  says  Wrangel,  endless  snows  and  ice-covered 
rocks  bound  the  horizon,  nature  lies  shrouded  in  all  but  per- 
petual winter,  and  life  is  an  unending  struggle  with  privation 
and  with  the  terrors  of  cold  and  hunger  ;  where  the  people, 
and  even  the  snow,  emit  a  constant  smoke,  and  this  evapora- 
tion is  immediately  changed  into  millions  of  icy  needles, 
which  make  a  noise  in  the  air  like  the  crackling  of  thick 
silk  ;  where  the  reindeer  crowd  together  for  the  sake  of  the 
warmth  derivable  from  such  contiguity  ;  and  only  the  raven, 
the  dark  bird  of  winter,  cleaves  the  sombre  sky  with  slow- 
laboring  wing,  and  marks  the  track  of  his  solitary  flight  by 
a  long  line  of  thin  vapor. 

"  The  tundra,"  says  another  writer,  "  is  the  very  grave  of 
nature,  the  sepulchre  of  the  primeval  world,  which  occasion- 

(91) 


92 


THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


ally  reveals  to  the  astonished  gaze  the  forms  of  colossal  ani- 
mals long  since  extinct.  Often  trunks  of  trees  split  asunder 
with  a  loud  noise  ;  masses  of  rock  are  loosened  from  their 
sites  ;  the  ground  in  the  valley  is  rent  with  yawning  fissures. 
Dense  grows  the  atmosphere  ;  the  stars  wane  and  flicker ; 
all  nature  sleeps  a  sleep  that  resembles  death,  and  which  is 
only  interrupted  in  the  summer  by  a  short  interval  of  spas- 
modic activity. 


LIMIT  OF  TREES  IN  SIBERIA. 

"  In  winter,  when  animal  life  has  mostly  retreated  south 
or  sought  a  refuge  in  burrows  or  in  caves,  an  awful  silence, 
interrupted  only  by  the  hooting  of  a  snow-owl  or  the  yelping 
of  a  fox,  reigns  over  the  vast  expanse  ;  but  in  spring,  when 
the  brown  earth  reappears  from  under  the  melted  snow  and 
the  swamps  begin  to  thaw,  enormous  flocks  of  wild  birds 
appear  upon  the  scene  and  enliven  it  for  a  few  months. 
Eagles  and  hawks  follow  the  traces  of  the  natatorial  and 
strand  birds ;  troops  of  ptarmigans  roam  among  the  stunted 
bushes  ;  and  when  the  sun  shines,  the  finch  or  the  snow- 
bunting  warbles  his  merry  note.  About  this  time,  also,  the 


REGION    OF   THE   LOWER   LENA.  93 

reindeer  leaves  the  forests  to  feed  on  the  herbs  and  lichens 
of  the  tundra,  and  many  smaller  animals  migrate  thither. 

"  Thus  during  several  months  the  tundra  presents  an  ani- 
mated scene,  in  which  man  also  plays  his  part ;  for  birds, 
beasts,  and  fishes  must  all  pay  tribute  to  his  various  wants. 
But  as  soon  as  the  first  frosts  of  September  announce  the 
approach  of  winter,  all  animals,  with  but  few  exceptions, 
haste  to  leave  a  region  where  the  sources  of  life  must  soon 
fail.  The  geese,  ducks,  and  swan  return  in  dense  flocks  to 
the  south  ;  the  strand  bird  seeks  in  some  lower  latitude  a 
softer  soil ;  the  water-fowl  forsakes  the  bays  and  channels 
which  will  soon  be  blocked  by  ice ;  the  reindeer  once  more 
returns  to  the  forest ;  and  in  a  short  time  nothing  is  left 
that  can  induce  man  to  remain.  Soon  a  thick  mantle  of 
snow  covers  the  hardened  earth,  the  frozen  lake,  the  ice- 
bound river,  and  conceals  them  all  under  its  monotonous 
pall,  except  where  the  furious  northeast  wind  sweeps  it  away 
and  lays  bare  the  naked  rock." 

The  following  graphic  description  of  the  region  of  the 
Lower  Lena  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  George  Kennan,  author 
of  "  Tent  Life  in  Siberia  "  :— 

"  Underlying  the  great  moss  tundras  which  border  the 
Lena  River  north  of  Yakutsk,  there  is  everywhere  a  thick 
stratum  of  eternal  frost,  beginning  in' winter  at  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  in  summer  at  a  point  twenty  or  thirty 
inches  below  the  surface,  and  extending  to  a  depth  of  many 
hundred  feet.  What  scanty  vegetation,  therefore,  the  tundra 
affords,  roots  itself  and  finds  its  nourishment  in  a  thin  layer 
of  unfrozen  ground — a  mere  veneering  of  arable  soil — resting 
upon  a  substratum  five  or  six  hundred  feet  in  depth  of  per- 
manent and  impenetrable  ice.  This  foundation  of  ice  is  im- 
pervious, of  course,  to  water,  and  as  the  snow  melts  in  sum- 
mer the  water  completely  saturates  the  soil  to  as  great 
a  depth  as  it  can  penetrate, and,  with  the  aid  of  the  continuous 
daylight  of  June  and  July,  stimulates  a  dense  luxuriant 
growth  of  gray  Arctic  moss.  This  moss  in  course  of  time 
covers  the  entire  plain  with  a  soft,  yielding  cushion,  in  which 


94  THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

a  pedestrian  will  sink  to  the  knee  without  finding  any  solid 
footing.  Moss  has  grown  out  of  decaying  moss  year  after 
year  and  century  after  century,  until  the  whole  tundra  for 
thousands  of  square  miles  is  a  vast,  spongy  bog.  Of  other 
vegetation  there  is  little  or  none.  A  clump  of  dwarf  berry 
bushes,  an  occasional  tuft  of  coarse  swamp-grass,  or  a  patch 
of  storm-and-cold-defying  kedrovnik,  diversifies,  perhaps, 
here  and  there  the  vast  brownish-gray  expanse ;  but,  gener- 
ally speaking,  the  eye  may  sweep  the  whole  circle  of  the 
horizon  and  see  nothing  but  the  sky  and  moss. 

"  An  observer  who  could  look  out  upon  this  region  in  win- 
ter from  the  car  of  a  balloon  would  suppose  himself  to  be 
looking  out  upon  a  great  frozen  ocean.  Far  or  near  he  would 
see  nothing  to  suggest  the  idea  of  land,  except,  perhaps,  the 
white  silhouette  of  a  barren  mountain  range  in  the  distance, 
or  a  dark  sinuous  line  of  dwarfed  bushes  and  trailing  pine 
stretching  across  the  snowy  waste  from  horizon  to  horizon, 
and  marking  the  course  of  a  frozen  Arctic  river. 

"At  all  seasons  and  under  all  circumstances  this  immense 
border-land  of  moss  tundras  is  a  land  of  desolation.  In 
summer  its  covering  of  water-soaked  moss  struggles  into 
life  only  to  be  lashed  at  intervals  with  pitiless  whips  of  icy 
rain  until  it  is  again  buried  in  snow ;  and  in  winter  fierce 
gales,  known  to  the  Russians  as  '  poorgasj  sweep  across  it 
from  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  score  its  snowy  surface  into 
long,  hard,  polished  grooves  called  '  sastrugi.'  Through- 
out the  entire  winter  it  presents  a  picture  of  inexpress- 
ible dreariness  and  desolation.  Even  at  noon,  when  the 
sea-like  expanse  of  storm-drifted  snow  is  flushed  faintly  by 
the  red  gloomy  light  of  the  low-hanging  sun,  it  depresses  the 
spirits  and  chills  the  imagination  with  its  suggestions  of  infi- 
nite dreariness  and  solitude  ;  but  at  night,  when  it  ceases  to 
be  bounded  even  by  the  horizon,  because  the  horizon  can  no 
longer  be  distinguished  when  the  pale  green  streamers  of 
the  aurora  begin  to  sweep  back  and  forth  over  a  dark  seg- 
ment of  a  circle  in  the  north,  lighting  up  the  whole  white 
world  with  transitory  flashes  of  ghostly  radiance  and  adding 


96 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


mystery  to  darkness  and  solitude, — then  the  Siberian  tundra 
not  only  becomes  inexpressibly  lonely  and  desolate,  but 
takes  on  a  strange,  half  terrible  unearthliness  which  awes 
and  yet  fascinates  the  imagination." 

In  the  region  of  the  Lower  Lena,  and  to  the  westward, 
have  been  found  specimens  of  a  huge  rhinoceros,  and  of  an 
elephant  larger  than  that  now  existing — popularly  called  the 
mammoth.  It  is  so  named  from  the  Russian  mamont,  or  Tar- 
tar mamma  (the  earth),  because  the  heathen  Yakutes  be- 


SIBERIAN  RHINOCEROS  HORN. 


lieved  that  this  animal  always  lived  in  the  earth,  and  worked 
its  way  around  like  a  mole,  however  hard  the  ground  was 
frozen.  They  also  believed  that  it  died  on  coming  in  contact 
with  the  outer  air.  As  for  the  rhinoceros,  the  natives  sup- 


LEGENDS   OF    THE   NATIVES.  97 

posed  that  its  horn  was  the  talon  of  a  species  of  gigantic 
bird,  regarding  which  many  wonderful  stories  were  told  in 
the  tents  of  the  Yakuts,  the  Ostyaks,  and  the  Tunguses. 
Their  legends  tell  of  fearful  combats  between  their  ancestors 
and  this  enormous  winged  animal. 

In  the  year  1799,  a  Tunguse  found  on  Tamut  Peninsula, 
which  juts  out  into  the  sea  from  the  delta  of  the  Lena,  a 
frozen-in  mammoth,  and  he  waited  patiently  five  years  for  the 
ground  to  thaw  so  that  the  precious  tusks  could  be  uncovered. 
The  skeleton  of  this  mammoth  is  now  in  the  Imperial 
Museum  at  St.  Petersburg.  Its  tusks  are  remarkable  for 
exhibiting  a  double  curve, —  first  inward,  then  outward,  and 
then  inward  again.  They  are  each  nine  and  one-half  feet  in 
length  (measured  along  the  curve),  and  the  two  weigh  360 
pounds. 

The  tundra  is  in  summer  completely  free  of  snow,  but  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  surface  the  ground  is  always  frozen. 
At  some  places  the  earthy  strata  alternates  with  strata  of 
pure,  clear  ice,  and  it  is  in  these  frozen  strata  that  the  carca- 
ses of  mammoths  and  rhinoceroses  are  found, "  where,"  says 
Nordenskiold,  "  they  have  been  protected  from  putrefaction 
for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years." 

The  nearer  we  come  to  the  Polar  Sea  the  more  plenty  are 
the  fossil  remains  of  the  mammoth,  but  nowhere  are  they 
found  in  such  quantities  as  on  the  New  Siberian  Islands. 
Every  year,  in  early  summer,  fishermen's  boats  direct  their 
course  from  the  Siberian  rivers  to  the  "  isle  of  bones"  ;  and 
during  winter,  caravans  drawn  by  dogs  take  the  same  route, 
and  return  with  loads  of  fossil  ivory,  which  finds  its  way  in- 
to China  and  Europe. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

THE  LENA  RIVER  AND  ITS  DELTA. 

rriHE  head  waters  of  the  Upper  Lena  have  their  sources 
-i-  spread  out  for  200  miles  along  the  counter  slopes  of  the 
hills  that  form  the  western  bank  of  Lake  Baikal,  and  the 
main  stream  rises  within  seven  miles  of  that  lake,  and  not 
far  from  Irkutsk,  the  capital  of  Eastern  Siberia.  At 
Kaclmgskoe,  about  sixty  miles  from  Lake  Baikal,  the  Lena 
is  as  wide  as  the  Thames  at  London,  and  in  spring  time  its 
deep  and  clear  waters  have  a  very  rapid  current.  The  next 
station  after  Kachugskoe  is  Vercholensk,  a  town  of  1,000 
inhabitants. 

After  flowing  500  miles  further  through  a  hilly  country, 
with  high  banks  always  on  one  and  sometimes  on  both  sides, 
on  which  are  thirty-five  post-stations  and  more  villages,  the 
river  passes  Kirensk,  the  chief  town  of  the  section.  Here 
cultivation  of  the  ground  practically  ceases,  except  for  vege- 
tables. At  this  point,  too,  the  river  receives  on  its  right  the 
Kirenga,  which  has  run  nearly  as  long  a  course  as  the  Lena. 
The  stream  thus  enlarged  now  flows  on  for  300  miles  to 
Yitimck,  where  it  is  joined  by  its  second  great  tributary,  the 
Yitim,  from  the  mountains  east -of  Lake  Baikal.  Another 
stretch  of  460  miles,  through  a  country  still  hilly,  but  with 
villages  less  frequent,  brings  the  traveler  to  Olekminsk,  a  town 
of  500  inhabitants,  where  the  Lena  receives  from  the  south 
the  Olekma,  which  rises  near  the  Amoor  River.  It  then  con- 
tinues on  for  400  miles  through  a  sparsely-populated  district 
till  it  reaches  Yakutsk,  where  it  is  four  miles?,  wide  in  sum- 
mer, and  two  and  one-half  in  winter.  At  this  place  it  is 
usually  frozen  over  about  the  first  of  October,  and  not  free 

(98) 


JOHN  LEDYARD'S  TRAVELS. 


99 


from  ice  till  near  June.     The  course    of  the   river  thus  far 
has  been  northeasterly. 

Nearly  one  hundred  years  ago,  John  Ledyard,  the  great 
American  traveler  of  that  period,  after  walking  from  London 
to  St.  Petersburg,  through  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  and 
Finland,  made  his  way  to  Irkutsk,  where  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  a  Swedish  officer.  >  On  the  26th  of  August, 
1787,  the  two  travelers  embarked  on  the  Upper  Lena  in  a 


SIBERIAN  RIVER  BOAT. 

small  boat,  at  a  point  150  miles  distant  from  Irkutsk,  with 
the  intention  of  floating  down  with  its  current  1,400  miles  to 
Yakutsk  — just  as  Ledyard,  in  his  college  days,  had  floated 
down  the  Connecticut  River  in  a  small  canoe,  from  Hanover, 
N.  IL,  to  Hartford. 

When  they  started,  says  Sparks,  there  had  been  a  hard 
frost,  and  the  forest  trees  had  begun  to  drop  their  foliage 
and  put  on  their  garb  of  winter.  The  stream  was  at  first  no 
more  than  twenty  yards  broad,  with  here  and  there  gentle 
rapids,  and  high,  rugged  mountains  on  each  side.  They 
were  carried  along  from  80  to  100  miles  a  day,  the  river 
gradually  increasing  in  size,  and  the  mountain  scenery  put- 


100  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

ting  on  an  infinite  variety  of  forms,  alternating  sublime  and 
picturesque,  bold  and  fantastic,  with  craggy  rocks  and  jutting 
headlands,  bearing  on  their  brows  the  verdure  of  pines,  firs, 
larches,  and  other  evergreens  and  Alpine  shrubs. 

All  the  way  to  Yakutsk  the  river  was  studded  with  islands 
which  added  to  the  romantic  appearance  of  the  scenery.  The 
weather  was  growing  cold,  and  heavy  fogs  hung  about  the 
river  till  a  late  hour  in  the  morning.  They  daily  passed 
small  towns  and  villages,  and  went  ashore  for  provisions  as 
occasion  required.  The  following  are  extracts  from  Led- 
yard's  journal : — 

"  August  80th.  We  stopped  at  a  village  this  morning  to 
procure  a  few  stores.  They  killed  for  us  a  sheep,  gave  us 
three  quarts  of  milk,  two  loaves  of  bread,  cakes  with  carrots 
and  radishes  baked  in  them,  onions,  one  dozen  of  fresh  and 
two  dozen  of  salted  fish,  straw  and  bark  to  mend  the  cover- 
ing of  our  boat,  and  all  for  the  value  of  about  fourteen  pence 
sterling.  The  poor  creatures  brought  us  the  straw,  to  show 
us  how  their  grain  was  blasted  by  the  cruel  frost,  although 
it  had  been  reaped  before  the  21st  of  August. 

"  September  4th.  Arrived  at  the  town  of  Keringar  at  day- 
light, and  staid  with  the  commandant  till  noon,  and  was 
treated  very  hospitably.  Some  merchants  sent  us  stores.  It 
is  the  custom  here,  if  they  hear  of  the  arrival  of  a  foreigner, 
to  load  him  with  their  little  services.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  pass  a  town  of  any  kind  without  being  arrested 
by  them.  They  have  the  earnestness  of  hospitality  ;  they 
crowd  their  tables  with  everything  they  have  to  eat  and 
drink,  and,  not  content  with  that,  they  fill  your  wallets.  I 
wish  I  could  think  them  as  honest  as  they  are  hospitable. 
The  reason  why  the  commandant  did  not  show  his  wife  was 
because  he  was  jealous  of  her.  I  have  observed  this  to  be  a 
prevailing  passion  here." 

On  the  18th  of  September,  Ledyard  arrived  at  Yakutsk, 
after  a  voyage  of  twenty-two  days,  during  which  he  had 
passed  from  a  summer  climate  to  one  of  vigorous  cold. 
When  he  left  Irkutsk  it  was  just  in  the  midst  of  harvest 


VOYAGE   DOWN    THE   LENA. 


101 


time,  and  the  reapers  were  in  the  fields ;  but  when  he  entered 
Yakutsk  the  snow  was  six  inches  deep,  and  the  boys  were 
whipping  their  tops  on  the  ice.  He  debarked  from  his  batteau 
two  miles  above  the  town,  and  there  mounted  a  sledge, 
drawn  by  an  ox,  which  had  a  Yakute  on  his  back,  and  was 
guided  by  a  cord  passing  through  the  cartilage  of  his  nose. 


YAKUTSK  IN  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

At  Yakutsk  the  Lena  makes  a  bend  and  runs  due  north, 
receiving  on  its  right,  100  miles  below  Yakutsk,  one  of  its 
largest  tributaries,  the  Aldan,  which  rises  in  the  Stanovoi 
range,  bordering  on  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  Yakutsk  is  only 
270  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  current,  henceforth,  is  slug- 
gish. About  fifty  miles  further  the  Lena  receives  its  largest 
tributary  from  the  left,  the  Vitui,  and  then  proceeds  majesti- 
cally through  a  flat  country,  with  an  enormous  body  of 
water,  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  into  which  it  enters  among  a 
delta  of  barren  islands  formed  of  the  debris  brought  down  by 
the  river.  In  times  of  flood,  uprooted  trees  and  driftwood 


102  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

are  swept  down  in  vast  quantities,  portions  of  which  are  left 
upon  the  labyrinth  of  islands  which  form  the  delta,  and  the 
remainder  are  carried  into  the  Polar  Sea,  to  be  drifted  away 
with  the  current  which  flows  from  east  to  west  along  the 
Siberian  coast. 

The  delta  of  the  Lena  has  a  frontage  on  the  sea,  from  the 
eastern  channel  around  to  the  western  channel,  of  nearly  200 
miles,  and,  according  to  Latkin,  it  is  crossed  by  seven  great 
arms.  The  westernmost  arm  is  called  Anatartisch,  and  it 
debouches  into  the  sea  at  a  cape  fifty-eight  feet  high,  named 
Ice  Cape.  Next  comes  the  river  arm  Bjelkoj ;  then  Tumat,  at 
whose  mouth  a  landmark  erected  by  Laptev  in  1739  is  still 
in  existence.  Then  come  the  other  three  main  arms, 
Kychistach,  Trofimov,  and  Kischlach,  and  finally  the  very 
broad  east-most  arm,  Bychov,  which  is  fouled  by  shoals.  The 
river  divides  into  these  several  arms  at  a  point  distant  about 
100  miles  from  the  sea. 

The  total  length  of  the  Lena  is  about  2,500  miles,  with  a 
fall  of  3,000  feet.  Its  waters  are  drained  from  an  area  of 
800,000  square  miles,  and  the  river,  with  its  numerous  afflu- 
ents, occupies  an  area,  of  over  40,000  square  miles. 

North  of  Yakutsk,  in  the  valley  of  the  Lower  Lena,  there 
are  no  towns,  but  only  a  few  miserable  settlements  or  villages, 
hundreds  of  miles  apart,  and  scattering  huts,  in  which  a  com- 
paratively few  natives  ^ — Yakuts,  Tunguses,  and  Yukaghirs 
— hibernate  through  the  long  winter,  and  wait  for  the  return 
of  summer,  when  they  can  renew  their  hard-earned  supplies 
of  provisions  by  hunting  and  fishing.  There  are  also  a  few 
unhappy  exiles,  banished  mostly  for  their  crimes,  and  some 
Russians.  Bulun,  Schigansk,  and  Kumak  Surka  are  the  best 
known  of  the  settlements.  Tas  Ary  is  on  the  delta,  and  is 
the  most  northern  fixed  dwelling-place  on  this  part  of  the 
coast ;  it  is  inhabited  entirely  by  Tunguses.  Bulun  is  about 
100  miles  further  south,  and  boasts  of  a  priest  and  two  Crown 
officials. 

Between  Bulun  and  Yakutsk  are  stations  at  intervals,  con- 
structed of  logs.  Lieutenant  Danenhower  describes  one  of 


A    WONDERFUL   SIGHT.  106 

these  stations,  only  seventeen  miles  from  Yakutsk,  as  a 
small  building  of  only  one  room,  with  a  cow-shed  attached. 
When  the  travelers  arrived  there  were  about  twenty  people 
in  the  room,  and  also  the  carcass  of  a  horse  which  had  been 
killed  for  food,  and  brought  into  the  room  to  thaw  out. 

The  shores  of  the  Siberian  tundra  witnessed  a  wonderful 
sight  in  1878,  when,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  tho 
world,  two  steam  vessels  ploughed  their  way  from  Europe 
around  Cape  Chelyuskin.  A  brief  account  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Lena  by  one  of  these  vessels  will  be  of  interest, 
when  taken  in  connection  with  events  which  transpired  along 
the  river  three  years  afterward. 

When  Nordenskiold  made  his  famous  Northeast  Passage, 
his  ship,  the  Vega,  was  accompanied  as  far  as  the  mouth  of 
the  Lena  by  a  small  steamer  of  the  same  name,  owned  by 
Mr.  A.  Sibiriakoff,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Johanne- 
sen.  Leaving  Tromsoe,  Norway,  July  21st,  1878,  they 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei,  August  6th,  and  on  the 
18th  were  anchored  in  a  splendid  harbor  situated  between 
Taimyr  Island  and  the  main-land.  The  ground  was  free  of 
snow,  and  covered  with  a  gray-green  vegetation  consisting  of 
grasses,  mosses,  and  lichens. 

On  the  19th  the  vessels  continued  their  course  along  the 
coast  of  the  Chelyuskin  Peninsula,  through  a  dense  fog, 
which  occasionally  lightened  up  so  that  the  contour  of  the 
land  could  be  distinguished.  They  steamed  past  an  exten- 
sive field  of  unbroken  ice  occupying  a  bay  on  the  western  side 
of  the  peninsula,  and  at  length  an  ice-free  promontory  glinted 
out  through  the  fog  in  the  northeast.  In  a  short  time  the 
Vega  and  Lena  were  anchored  in  a  little  bay,  open  to  the 
north  and  ice-free,  that  cuts  the  promontory  in  two.  Flags 
were  hoisted  and  a  salute  fired.  The  first  object  of  the  voy- 
age had  been  attained ;  the  northernmost  point  of  the  old 
world,  variously  called  Cape  Chelyuskin,  Cape  Severo,  and 
Northeast  Cape,  had  been  rounded  by  vessels  for  the  first 
time. 

The  air  had  cleared,  and  the  cape  lay  before  them  lighted 


106  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

up  by  the  sun  and  free  from  snow.  A  large  Polar  bear  was 
seen  parading  the  beach,  with  eyes  and  nose  turned  toward 
the  bay  to  inspect  the  new  arrival ;  frightened  by  their  salute, 
it  took  to  flight  and  escaped  the  balls  of  the  Swedes. 

At  noon  on  the  20th  the  vessels  sailed  on,  meeting  with 
much  drift-ice,  and  the  floes  soon  increased  in  size  till  pro- 
gress through  them  was  almost  impossible.  Open  water  was 
again  reached  on  the  23d,  and  with  a  fresh  breeze  the  vessels 
moved  rapidly  along  without  the  aid  of  steam,  over  a  perfectly 
Smooth  sea.  High,  picturesque  mountains  were  seen  inland. 
On  arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  a  favorable  wind  and 
an  open  sea  induced  Nordenskiold  to  continue  on  without 
stopping,  and  the  Vega  and  the  Lena  accordingly  parted  on 
the  night  of  August  27th — the  former  to  continue  its  east- 
ward course  ;  the  latter  to  ascend  the  Lena. 

Before  the  Lena  left  Tromsoe,  the  agent  of  the  owner 
entered  into  a  formal  contract  with  a  Yakut  pilot,  who  agreed 
to  meet  the  vessel  at  the  north  point  of  the  delta  and  take  it 
up  the  river  to  Yakutsk.  He  was  to  travel  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean  in  May,  and  to  erect  on  some  eminence  near  the  shore 
of  Tumat  Island  a  signal-tower  of  drift-wood  or  earth,  like  a 
Cossack  mound,  not  lower  than  seven  feet.  On  this  founda- 
tion he  was  to  erect  a  pyramidal  frame  of  three  or  more 
thick  logs,  on  the  top  of  which  was  to  be  fixed  a  flag-staff 
with  a  pulley-block  for  a  flag,  which  was  to  be  hoisted  at  least 
42  feet  from  the  ground.  He  was  to  guard  the  landmark 
thus  erected  until  the  river  froze  in  the  autumn,  and  when 
the  nights  became  dark  he  was  to  light  fires  on  the  land  and 
hang  lanterns  to  the  flag-staff. 

It  was  also  provided  in  the  contract,  that  during  his  whole 
term  of  service  the  pilot,  and  his  interpreter,  "must  be 
always  sober  (never  intoxicated),  behave  faithfully  and 
courteously,  and  punctually  comply  with  the  captain's  orders." 
He  was  to  receive  as  pay  for  all  these  services  and  self-deni- 
als the  sum  of  900  roubles,  one-third  of  which  was  to  be  paid 
in  advance. 

The  contract  had  been  entered  into  with  the  friendly  co- 


JOHANNESEN 's  EXPLORATIONS.  107 

operation  of  the  Governor  and  Bishop  of  Yakutsk,  who  were 
much  interested  in  the  proposed  voyage.  But  notwithstand- 
ing all  this,  the  affair  was  attended  with  no  better  success 
than  that  the  pilot  celebrated  the  receipt  of  the  large  sum  of 
money  by  getting  thoroughly  intoxicated ;  and  while  in  that 
state  he  broke  one  of  the  bones  of  the  fore-arm,  and  was 
unable  to  start  for  the  appointed  rendezvous. 

After  the  Lena  had  parted  with  the  Vega  she  steamed 
toward  land,  and  came  the  same  day  to  the  northernmost 
cape  of  the  Lena  delta,  where  the  pilot's  landmark  was  to 
have  been  erected ;  but  there  was  no  pilot  there,  and  no  flag- 
staff was  visible.  Johannesen  then  sailed  westward. along 
the  shore,  but  as  his  search  in  this  direction  was  not  attended 
with  success,  he  turned  back  to  the  first-mentioned  place  and 
landed  there.  On  the  shore  stood  a  very  old  hut,  already 
completely  filled  with  earth.  It  probably  dated  from  some 
of  the  expeditions  which  visited  the  region  in  the  beginning 
of  the  century.  Wild  reindeer  were  seen  in  large  numbers. 

Left  thus  to  his  own  resources,  Captain  Johannesen 
steamed  again  to  the  westward,  as  near  to  the  land  as  pos- 
sible, but  as  the  water  became  shallower  and  shallower  he 
determined  to  search  for  the  broad  easternmost  arm  of  the 
river  (named  Bychov),  and  on  the  1st  of  September  he 
anchored  ill  a  bay  on  the  main-land  in  the  neighborhood  of 
its  mouth. 

On  the  3d  of  September,  Johannesen  continued  his  course 
up  the  river,  but  the  Lena  soon  got  aground,  and  it  was  sev- 
eral hours  before  the  water  rose  enough  so  it  could  be  got 
off.  While  the  vessel  was  aground,  nine  Tunguses  came  on 
board.  They  paddled  small  boats,which  were  made  of  a  single 
log  of  soft  wood,  hollowed  out,  and  could  just  carry  a  man 
each.  Johannesen  endeavored  in  vain  to  induce  some  of  the 
Tunguses  to  pilot  the  steamer.  He  did  not  succeed  in 
explaining  his  wish  to  them,  notwithstanding  all  the  attempts 
of  the  Russian  interpreter — a  proof  of  the  slight  contact 
these  Tunguses  had  had  with  the  rulers  of  Siberia,  and  also 


108  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTTC    EXPEDITION. 

of  the  difficulty  and  unwillingness  with  which  the  savage 
learns  the  language  of  the  civilized  nations. 

The  sailing  through  the  delta  was  rendered  difficult  by  the 
maps,  which  were  made  140  years  ago,  being  now  useless ; 
for  the  delta  has  undergone  great  alterations  since  then. 
Where  at  that  time  there  were  sand-banks,  there  are  now 
large  islands,  overgrown  with  wood  and  grass.  At  other 
places,  again,  whole  islands  have  been  washed  away  by  the 
river.  It  was  not  until  the  7th  September  that  the  delta 
was  finally  passed  and  the  Lena  steamed  in  the  river  proper, 
where  the  fair-way  became  considerably  better.  Johannesen 
says,  in  his  account  of  the  voyage,  that  it  is  improbable  that 
any  of  the  western  arms  of  the  Lena  are  of  importance ; 
partly  because  the  mass  of  water  which  flows  in  an  easterly 
direction  is  very  considerable  in  comparison  with  the  whole 
quantity  of  water  in  the  river  ;  partly  because  the  western 
and  northern  arms,  which  Johannesen  visited,  contained 
only  salt  water,  while  the  water  in  the  eastern  arm  was  com- 
pletely free  from  any  salt  taste. 

On  the  8th,  early  in  the  morning,  the  first  fixed  dwelling- 
place  on  the  Lena,  Tas-Ary,  was  reached.  Here  the  voya- 
gers landed  to  get  information  about  the  fair-way,  but  could 
not  enter  into  communication  with  the  natives  because  thej 
were  Tunguses.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  they  came 
to  another  river  village,  Bulun.  Impatient  to  proceed,  and 
supposing  that  it  also  was  inhabited  wholly  by  "  Asiatics  "  (a 
common  name  used  in  Siberia  for  all  the  native  races),  Jo- 
hannesen intended  to  pass  it  without  stopping.  But  when 
the  inhabitants  saw  the  steamer,  they  welcomed  it  with  a 
salute  from  all  the  guns  that  could  be  got  hold  of  in  haste. 
The  Lena  then  anchored.  Two  Crown  officials  and  a  priest 
came  on  board,  and  the  latter  performed  a  thanksgiving 
service. 

"Even  at  that  remote  spot,"  says  Nordenskiold,  "on  the 
border  of  the  tundra,  the  Asiatic  comprehended  very  well 
the  importance  of  vessels  from  the  great  oceans  being  able 
to  reach  the  large  rivers  of  Siberia.  I.  too,  had  a  proof  of 


EXPERIENCED. 


109 


this  in  the  year  1875.  While  still  rowing  up  the  river  in  my 
own  Nordland  boat,  with  two  scientific  men  and  three  hunt- 
ers, before  we  got  up  with  the  steamer  Alexander  we  landed 
among  others,  at  a  place  where  a  number  of  Dolgans  were 
collected.  When  they  understood  clearly  that  we  had  come 
to  them,  not  as  brandy  sellers  or  fish-buyers  from  the  south, 
but  from  the  north,  from  the  ocean,  they  went  into  complete 


A  SEA-SICK  OFFICIAL. 

ecstacies.  We  were  exposed  to  unpleasant  embraces  from 
our  skin-clad  admirers,  and  finally  one  of  us  had  the  misfor- 
tune to  get  a  bath  in  the  river,  in  the  course  of  an  attempt 
which  the  Dolgans  in  their  excitement  made  to  carry  him 
almost  with  violence  to  the  boat,  which  was  lying  in  the  shal- 
low water  some  distance  from  the  shore.  At  Dudino,  also, 
the  priests  living  there  held  a  thanksgiving  service  for  our 
happy  arrival  thither.  Two  of  them  said  mass,  while  the 
•lerk,  clad  in  a  sheepskin  caftan  reaching  to  his  feet,  zeal- 


110  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

ously  and  devoutly  swung  an  immense  censer.  The  odor 
from  it  was  at  first  not  particularly  pleasant,  but  it  soon  be- 
came so  strong  and  disagreeable  that  I,  who  had  my  place  in 
front  of  the  audience,  was  like  to  choke,  though  the  ceremony 
was  performed  in  the  open  air.  Soon  the  clerk  was  com- 
pletely concealed  in  a  dense  cloud  of  smoke,  and  it  was  now 
observed  that  his  skin  cloak  had  been  set  fire  to  at  the  same 
time  as  the  incense.  The  service,  however,  was  not  inter- 
rupted by  this  incident,  but  the  fire  was- merely  extinguished 
by  a  bucket  of  water  being  thrown,  to  the  amusement  of  all, 
over  the  clerk."  , 

At  nine  in  the  morning  the  Lena  continued  her  voyage  up 
the  river,  with  the  priest  and  the  Crown  officials  on  board, 
but  they  had  soon  to  be  landed,  because  in  their  joy  they  had 
become  dead  drunk.  On  the  13th,  Schigansk  was  reached, 
and  samples  of  the  coal  found  there  were  taken  on  board. 
On  the  21st  the  Lena  reached  Yakutsk.  The  first  vessel 
which,  coming  from  the  ocean,  reached  the  heart  of  Siberia, 
was  received  with  great  good-will  and  hospitality,  both  by 
the  authorities  and  the  common  people.  Johannessen  con- 
tinued his  voyage  up  the  river  until,  on  the  8th  of  Octo- 
ber, he  came  to  the  village  Njaskaja.  Here  he  turned  back  to 
Yakutsk,  and  laid  up  the  steamer  in  winter-quarters  a  little 
to  the  south  of  that  town. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ENGINEER  MELVILLE'S  NARRATIVE. 

WHEN  the  Jeannette's  crew  was  retreating  over  tho 
ice  towards  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  after  the  loss 
of  their  ship,  Lieutenant  Danenhower  suffered  severely  from 
trouble  with  his  eyes,  and  in  consequence  thereof  was  re- 
lieved from  duty.  Engineer  Melville  succeeded  him  as  com- 
mander of  the  whale-boat  party,  and  received  orders  from 
Lieutenant  DeLong  as  follows :  — 

"  U.  S.  ARCTIC  EXPEDITION,  CAPE  EMMA, 
BENNETT  ISLAND,  LAT.  76.38,  LON.  148.20  E., 

August  5th,  1881. 
To  P.  A.  ENGINEER  GEORGE  W.  MELVILLE,  U.  S.  N. :  — 

SIR  —  We  shall  leave  this  island  to-morrow,  steering  a 
course  (over  ice  or  through  water  as  the  case  may  be)  south 
magnetic.  In  the  event  of  our  embarking  in  our  boats  at 
any  time  after  the  start,  you  are  hereby  ordered  to  take  com- 
mand of  the  whale-boat  until  such  time  as  I  relieve  you  from 
that  duty  or  assign  you  to  some  other.  Every  person  under 
my  command  at  the  time  who  may  be  embarked  in  that  boat 
at  any  time  is  under  your  charge  and  subject  to  your  orders, 
and  you  are  to  exercise  all  care  and  diligence  for  their  pre- 
servation and  the  safety  of  the  boat.  You  will  under  all 
circumstances  keep  close  to  the  boat  in  which  I  shall  em- 
bark; but  if  unfortunately  we  become  separated  you  will 
make  the  best  of  your  way  south  until  you  make  the  coast 
of  Siberia,  and  follow  it  along  to  the  westward  as  far  as  the 
Lena  River.  This  river  is  the  destination  of  our  party,  and 
without  delay  you  will,  in  case  of  separation,  ascend  the  Le- 
na to  a  Russian  settlement  from  which  you  can  communicate 
o?  be  forwarded  with  your  party  tc  some  place  of  security 

an) 


112  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

and  easy  access.  If  the  boat  in  which  I  embark  is  sep- 
arated from  the  other  boats,  you  will  at  once  place  yourself 
under  the  orders  of  Lieutenant  C.  W.  Chipp,  and  so  long  as 
you  remain  in  his  company  obey  such  orders  as  he  may  give 
you. 

Very  respectfully, 

GEORGE  W.  BELONG, 
Lieutenant  U.  S.  Navy,  Commanding  Arctic  Expedition. 

Mr.  Melville's  personal  narrative,  made  up  from  his  letters 
and  reports  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  describes  the 
voyage  and  wreck  of  the  Jeannette,  and  subsequent  events, 
as  follows : — 

We  arrived  in  the  harbor  of  Lutke,  Bay  of  St.  Lawrence, 
on  the  25th  of  August,  and  on  the  27th  completed  our  supply 
of  stores  from  the  schooner,  and  sailed  for  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
to  visit  Kolyutschin  Bay  to  search  for  Nordenskiold,  and  then 
to  continue  our  voyage  of  discovery.  We  arrived  at  Kolyuts- 
chin Bay  on  August  31st,  and  having  found  satisfactory 
proof  of  the  safety  of  Nordenskiold  we  continued  our  voyage 
to  the  northward. 

On  September  3d  we  came  up  with  the  ice,  and  on  the  4th 
sighted  Herald  Island.  We  continued  to  work  through  the 
ice  until  the  6th  of  September,  when  we  became  finally  fixed 
in  the  ice.  On  September  13th  an  attempt  was  made  to  land 
on  Herald  Island,  but  it  was  unsuccessful,  and  the  traveling 
party  returned  to  the  ship  on  the  14th.  We  continued  to 
drift  with  the  ice  toward  the  northwest,  and  on  October  21st 
sighted  Wrangel  Land,  bearing  south.  We  continued  fast 
in  close-packed  ice  until  November  25th,  when,  after  several 
days'  severe  crushing  of  the  ice  and  nipping  of  the  ship,  she 
was  forced  into  open  water,  and  drifted  northwest  without 
control  until  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  when  we  brought 
up  against  a  solid  floe  piece  and  made  fast,  where  we  again 
froze  in,  and  remained  until  the  vessel  was  eventually  de- 
stroyed. 

On  January  19th,  after  several  days'  anxiety  from  the 
crushing  strain  of  the  ice  on  the  ship  and  the  noise  made  by 


PUMPS   WORKED   DAY   AND   NIGHT. 


113 


the  rising  and  bursting  of  the  floe,  we  finally  discovered  that 
the  ship,  after  receiving  several  severe  shocks,  was  leaking 
badly.  Steam  was  got  on  the  engine  boilers,  and  both  steam 
and  hand  pumps  were  worked  day  and  night  until  the  ship 


FASTENED  TO  A  FLOE. 

was  partially  repaired.  Stores  were  hoisted  out  of  the  hold, 
and  all  preparations  made  to  make  good  our  retreat  to 
Wrangel  Land  if  forced  to  abandon  the  ship.  We  continued 
to  drift  northwest,  and  steam  was  necessary  to  pump  the  ship 
until  May  18,  1880. 

In  the  meantime  a  water-tight  bulk-head  had  been  built  in- 
to the  forward  part  of  the  ship,  and  the  spaces  between  the 
ship's  frames  filled  in  with  meal,  tallow,  ashes,  and  oakum 
to  keep  out  the  water.  After  May  18th,  1880,  the  water  was 
pumped  out  night  and  day  by  hand  pump  or  windmill  pump 
until  the  ship  was  destroyed. 

Long  and  dreary  months  of  close  confinement  to  the  ship, 
and  anxiety  for  her  safety  continued  until  May  17th,  1881, 
when  we  were  enlivened  by  our  first  sight  of  land  since 
March,  1880,  when  we  lost  sight  of  Wrangel  Land;  and  as 


114  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

no  land  was  laid  down  in  any  chart  in  our  possession,  we 
concluded  it  to  be  a  new  island.  The  island  was  named 
Jeannette  Island,  though  not  landed  upon.  Its  position  was 
latitude  76  deg.  47  min.  north,  longitude  158  deg.  56  min. 
east. 

The  ship  drifted  rapidly  northwest,  and  on  the  24th  of 
May  a  new  land  was  discovered,  and  as  we  were  drifting 
toward  it  no  effort  was  made  at  the  time  to  land  upon  it. 
The  ige  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ship  was  much  broken  up  and 
thrown  into  chaotic  masses  in  all  directions  and  in  all  forms 
imaginable.  Great  anxiety  was  now  felt  for  the  safety  of 
the  ship,  as  the  whole  ice-field,  pack  and  floe,  seemed  in 
rapid  motion.  We  gradually  approached  the  island  until 
the  1st  of  June,  when  a  party,  consisting  of  C.  E.  Melville 
and  five  men,  with  a  boat  mounted  on  a  McClintock  sled 
drawn  by  fifteen  dogs,  and  equipped  with  guns,  ammunition, 
tent,  and  provisions  for  seven  days,  left  the  ship  to  make  a 
landing,  which  was  accomplished  on  the  evening  of  June  3d. 
We  hoisted  the  national  standard,  and  took  possession  of  the 
island  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  of  America,  naming 
it  Henrietta  Island.  It  is  situated  in  latitude  77  deg.  8  min. 
north,  and  longitude  157  deg.  43  min.  east.  It  is  high, 
mountainous,  and  of  volcanic  origin,  and  is  covered  by  a  per- 
petual dome  of  ice  and  snow.  The  traveling  party  returned 
to  the  ship  on  June  6th. 

The  ship  and  ice  continued  to  drift  to  the  west  and  north- 
west, the  whole  ice-field  being  broken  up  in  all  directions. 
On  the  night  of  June  10th  several  severe  shocks  were  felt, 
and  the  ship  was  found  to  have  raised  several  inches  in  her 
bed  There  was  evidence  of  an  approachjng  break-up  of  our 
friendly  floe-piece.  At  ten  minutes  past  twelve  A.  M.,  June 
llth,  the  ice  suddenly  opened  alongside  the  ship,  completely 
freeing  her,  and  she  floated  on  an  even  keel  for  the  first  time 
in  many  months. 

The  ice  continued  in  motion,  but  no  serious  injury  oc- 
curred to  the  ship  until  the  morning  of  the  12th,  when  the 
ice  commenced  to  pack  together,  bringing  a  tremendous 


THE  SHIP  SINKS.  116 

strain  on  the  ship,  heeling  her  over  to  starboard,  and  forcing 
the  deck-seams  open.  This  continued  during  the  day  at  in- 
tervals until  evening,  when  it  was  evident  the  ship  could  not 
much  longer  hold  together.  The  boats  were  lowered  on  the 
ice,  and  provisions,  arms,  tents,  alcohol,  sledges,  and  all  nec- 
essary equipment  for  a  retreat  securely  placed  on  the  floe. 
By  six  P.  M.  the  ship  had  entirely  filled  with  water,  and  lay 
over  at  an  angle  of  about  twenty-two  degrees,  being  kept 
from  sinking  by  the  opposing  edges  of  the  floe.  On  the 
morning  of  the  13th  of  June,  about  4  o'clock,  the  ice  opened 
and  the  ship  went  down,  with  colors  flying  at  the  masthead. 

We  remained  six  days  on  the  ice  organizing  our  system 
and  line  of  march  south,  during  which  time  we  had  resumed 
a  rapid  drift  to  the  northwest.  On  June  24th,  having 
marched  south  one  week  and  obtained  observation  for  posi- 
tion, we  found  we  had  drifted  to  latitude  77  deg.  42  min. 
north  —  a  loss  of  twenty-four  miles  northwest. 

We  continued  our  march  south  and  west,  and  finally 
landed  on  Bennett  Island,  July  29th.  Hoisted  the  national 
flag  and  took  possession  of  the  island.  It  is  located  in  north 
latitude  76  deg.  38  min.,  east  longitude  150  deg.  30  min. 
We  traversed  the  eastern  end  of  the  island.  Left  it 
August  6th,  and  sighted  the  north  side  of  Thaddeus  (Fad- 
deyev)  Island,  one  of  the  New  Siberia  group,  and  remained 
there  ten  days  ice-bound.  Landed  on  the  south  side  of  Thad- 
deus Island  August  31st.  Left  south  end  of  Ixotelnoi  Island 
September  6th.  Camped  in  sight  of  Stolbovoi  Island  Septem- 
ber 7th.  Landed  on  Semenoffski  Island  September  10th. 

We  left  Semenoffski  Island,  September  12th,  in  three  boats 
for  Barkin,  at  the  Lena's  mouth.  Separated  by  a  gale  of 
wind  the  same  night.  Made  the  shoals  off  Barkin  on  the 
morning  of  September  14th.  Made  eastern  entrance  of  Le- 
na River  September  16th,  and  camped  in  a  vacant  hut. 
Made  two  days'  journey,  and  on  the  19th  fell  in  with  three 
natives,  who  would  not  pilot  us  to  a  village. 

On  the  20th  I  tried  to  proceed  up  the  river,  but  found  the 
8 


116  THB  JEANNBTTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

shoals  too  difficult,  and  was  compelled  to  return  to  the  house 
where  we  slept  on  the  19th.  On  returning  to  the  house  we  found 
Bushielle  Koolgiak,  who  voluntarily  offered  to  pilot  me  to 
Bulun,  but  after  three  days'  hard  work  stopped  at  the  house 
of  Spiridon.  Next  day  set  out,  and  brought  up  at  the  house 
of  Nicoli  Chagre.  The  ice  was  forming  in  the  river,  and  the 
natives  informed  me  that  we  could  not  proceed  south  until 
the  sledding  season  commenced,  which  would  be  in  about 
fifteen  days. 

On  the  next  day  I  made  an  effort  to  get  up  the  river  with 
three  native  pilots,  but  after  grounding  very  often  the  pilots 
insisted  on  returning,  and  the  condition  of  the  party  did  not 
warrant  me  in  advancing,  for  most  of  us  were  very  much 
exhausted,  were  suffering  from  frozen  feet  and  legs,  and  lack 
of  food,  the  majority  being  unable  to  walk.  The  natives 
gave  us  quarters,  and  a  limited  quantity  of  fish  and  decayed 
geese. 

On  October  8th  a  Russian  exile,  named  Koosmah  Ere- 
maoff,  discovered  us  accidentally.  He  gave  us  salt  and  all 
the  food  his  scanty  supply  allowed,  and  agreed  to  go  to  Bu- 
lun to  inform  the  commandant  of  that  place  of  our  presence 
and  distressed  condition,  and  obtain  food  and  transporta- 
tion. 

Koosmah  started  for  Bulun  October  16th,  and  took 
Chagre  with  him,  and  was  to  have  returned  in  five  days  ;  but 
he  did  not  return  until  the  evening  of  October  29th,  when  he 
brought  a  small  supply  of  food  and  a  letter  from  Baishoff, 
Commandant  of  Bulun,  who  was  to  be  at  Bykoff  on  Novem- 
ber 1st,  with  reindeer  and  sleds  to  carry  the  whole  party  to 
Bulun.  Koosmah  also  brought  a  letter  from  two  of  the 
first  cutter's  crew,  whom  Tie  met  at  Kumak  Surka  in  charge 
of  three  natives,  who  were  transporting  them  to  Bulun. 
This  letter  was  the  first  intelligence  I  had  of  the  first  cutter  ; 
the  following  is  a  copy  : — 

"  NOVEMBER  GTH. 

Arctic  steamer  Jeannette  lost  on  the  llth  of  June ; 
landed  on  Siberia  the  25th  of  September,  or  thereabouts ; 


STARTLING   NEWS.  117 

want  assistance  to  go  for  the  captain  and  doctor  and  nine 
other  men.  [Signed] 

WM.  C.  F.  NlNDERMANN, 

Louis  P.  NOROS, 

Seamen  U.  S.  N. 

Reply  in  haste ;  want  food  and  clothing." 

I  immediately  started  with  dog-sleds  for  Bulun,  October 
30th,  hoping  to  intercept  the  commandant  on  the  way;  but 
he  had  reindeer,  and  traveled  by  a  different  route.  Master 
John  W.  Danenhower,  having  recovered  the  use  of  his  eyes, 
had  been  placed  in  charge  of  my  party,  with  orders  to  follow 
me  to  Bulun  as  soon  as  transportation  could  be  obtained. 

I  arrived  at  Bulun  at  five  P.  M.,  November  2d,  and  found 
the  two  men  in  a  very  exhausted  condition.  From  them  I 
learned  the  following  particulars  of  what  transpired  subse- 
quent to  October  1st,  the  date  of  the  latest  of  Lieutenant 
DeLong's  records. 

The  party  (DeLong's)  crossed  the  Lena  to  the  west  bank 
on  October  1st,  at  a  summer  hunting-lodge  called  Usterda. 
The  toes  of  seaman  H.  H.  Erickson  having  been  amputated, 
he  was  placed  upon  an  improvised  sled,  which  was  hauled  by 
his  comrades,  several  of  whom  were  hardly  able  to  walk, 
owing  to  frozen  feet  and  legs.  They  proceeded  south  slowly 
for  two  days,  and  crossed  a  small  branch  of  the  Lena,  which 
they  had  to  wade.  On  October  6th  they  stopped  at  a  small 
hut,  where  Erickson  died  the  next  day,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Lena. 

By  this  time  they  were  in  a  deplorable  condition,  having 
eaten  their  last  dog-meat,  and  being  on  an  allowance  of  three 
ounces  of  alcohol  per  man  per  day.  They  proceeded  south 
until  October  9th,  when  Lieutenant  DeLong  decided  to  send 
two  men  ahead  to  seek  relief. 

The  feet  of  Nindermann  and  Noros  were  better  than  those 
of  the  others,  and  they  were  supplied  with  blankets  and  a 
Remington  rifle  (forty  rounds  of  ammunition),  and  six 
ounces  of  alcohol,  which  was  a  per  capita  division  of  the 
whole  stock  of  the  latter.  They  were  ordered  to  proceed 


118  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

south  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Lena,  and  to  send  relief  if 
found,  being  told  that  the  others  would  follow  their  foot- 
steps. When  the  two  men  started,  the  party  was  at  a  halt 
on  the  north  bank  of  a  large  western  branch  of  the  Lena. 
The  two  men  ascended  that  branch  about  five  miles  to  make 
a  crossing,  and  then  traveled  southeast  to  a  hut  situated  on 
the  Lena  bank.  After  fourteen  days  of  intense  suffering 
and  slow  progress  they  reached  Bulcour,  and  were  found  by 
three  natives,  who  supplied  them  with  food  and  transported 
them  to  Bulun  by  deer-sleds,  arriving  at  that  place  October 
27th. 

The  commandant  of  Bulun  took  good  care  of  Nindermann 
and  Noros,  but  was  unable  to  understand  them.  He  gave 
them  material,  and  they  wrote  a  long  dispatch  addressed  to 
the  American  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  which  the  com- 
mandant took  with  him  to  Bykoif.  Mr.  Danenhower  imme- 
diately sent  it  to  me  by  special  courier,  together  with  an 
order  from  the  commandant  to  a  subordinate  at  Bulun  to 
furnish  me  with  an  outfit,  and  appointing  Kumak  Surka  as  a 
rendezvous,  at  which  place  I  met  him  and  the  remainder  of 
my  party  on  November  5th.  After  a  consultation,  I  ordered 
Mr.  Danenhower  to  proceed  south  with  all  the  party  except 
James  H.  Bartlett,  first-class  fireman,  who  was  to  remain 
at  Bulun  to  communicate  with  me. 

I  started  north  on  that  evening,  November  5th,  to  the 
relief  of  Lieutenant  DeLoug,  having  with  me  two  natives 
and  two  dog-trains,  with  provisions  for  ten  days.  Stopped 
at  Kumak  Surka,  November  5th.  Traveled  fifty  versts 
November  6th,  and  reached  Bulcour.*  Found  two  deserted 
houses  and  traces  of  the  two  men,  Nindermann  and  Noros. 
Weather-bound  November  7th  ;  traveled  sixty-five  versts  on 
November  8th  ;  examined  small  hut  where  the  two  men  had 
slept,  and  where  a  number  of  sleds  were  stowed.  Slept  in 
snow-bank  that  night.  November  9th,  travelled  eighty-five 

*  A  verst  is  two-thirds  of  a  mile. 


DISCOVERY   OP   DB  LONG*8   RECORDS.  119 

versts,  visiting  the  huts  at  the  two  crosses,  the  shoal  at  Asto- 
lira,  and  reaching  Mot  Vai  after  midnight. 

The  next  morning  I  found  in  the  hut  a  waist-belt  that 
had  been  made  on  board  the  Jeannette,  and  there  were  good 
indications  that  one  or  two  of  Lieutenant  DeLong's  party 
had  slept  in  the  hut.  On  November  10th,  our  provisions 
running  short,  I  decided  to  go  to  Upper  Bulun,  a  distance  of 
120  versts  to  the  northwest,  in  order  to  renew  them. 
Reached  Upper  Bulun  about  midnight  on  the  llth,  having 
stopped  at  the  deserted  hunting-station  of  Oath  Conta  on  the 
llth,  and  also  having  visited  eight  huts  on  the  route.  Con- 
siderable stale  fish  and  deer-meat  were  found  at  Oath  Conta, 
but  no  signs  of  it  or  the  huts  having  been  visited  by  De- 
Long's  party. 

On  my  arrival  at  Upper  Bulun  the  natives  brought  in 
Lieutenant  DeLong's  record,  dated  October  1st,  and  I  learned 
that  others  had  been  found.  I  sent  to  a  neighboring  village 
for  them,  and  the  next  morning  records  dated  September 
22d  and  26th,  with  a  Winchester  rifle,  were  brought  to  me. 
On  November  12th,  we  were  weather-bound.  The  only  pro- 
visions to  be  obtained  were  deer-meat  and  fish,  there  being  a 
scarcity  of  the  latter,  the  natives  having  to  send  250  versts 
for  their  own  supply. 

On  November  13th  I  obtained  four  days'  supply  of  fish, 
and  with  fresh  dog-teams  and  natives  started  for  Ballock,  a 
hut  in  which  record  No.  3  and  the  Winchester  rifle  were 
found.  Slept  there  that  night ;  found  both  huts  filled  with 
snow.  On  November  14th  I  followed  the  east  bank  of  the 
Lena  to  the  coast ;  followed  the  coast  about  three  miles  to 
the  east,  and  found  the  cache  that  had  been  made  by  Lieu- 
tenant DeLong  on  September  19th,  1881.  I  made  a  thorough 
search  and  gathered  up  everything.  The  sleighs  being  too 
heavily  laden  to  carry  it,  I  searched  for  the  boat  both  east 
and  west  of  the  cache  for  a  distance  of  five  miles  each  way, 
and  to  a  distance  of  one  mile  and  a  half  off  shore,  and  saw 
no  signs  of  it.  The  ice  was  very  much  broken,  and  was 
shoved  up  in  masses  to  within  twenty-five  feet  of  the  cache. 


120  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

I  returned  about  midnight  to  Ballock,  and  to  Upper  Bulun 
the  next  day,  November  15th,  during  a  heavy  storm.  Was 
obliged  to  wait  there  two  days  to  rest  and  feed  the  dogs. 
During  this  time  I  overhauled  everything  obtained  in  the 
cache,  and  the  following  is  a  correct  list,  viz. : — 

One  box  containing  refuse  medical  stores;  one  box  of 
small  articles  (mess-gear);  one  box  for  navigation  books 
and  sextant ;  one  box  chronometer  ;  two  tin  cases  containing 
four  log-books  ;  two  cook-stoves ;  two  pieces  of  rope ;  seven 
old  sleeping-bags,  condemned ;  one  lot  of  old  clothing  (worn 
out) ;  one  Winchester  rifle  ;  one  repeating  rifle  (both  bro- 
ken) ;  one  boat-breaker ;  one  boat-bucket ;  one  box  speci- 
mens from  Bennett  Island. 

Some  of  these  articles  were  left  at  Upper  Bulun,  and  the 
others  were  taken  to  Yakutsk.  There  was  no  list  of  articles 
found  in  the  cache,  but  record  No.  1  was  found  in  the  navi- 
gation-box. 

On  November  17th  I  left  Upper  Bulun  with  fish  for  ten 
days'  food,  and  with  three  dog-teams  driven  by  three  natives. 
I  visited  the  place  at  which  DeLong's  party  crossed  the 
Lena,  and  traced  the  party  to  Sisteraneck,  from  which  place 
I  wished  to  search  for  the  hut  in  which  Erickson  died ;  but 
there  was  a  storm  raging,  and  the  natives  insisted  on  return- 
ing to  either  Bulun  or  Upper  Buluri,  because  there  was  a 
lack  of  food  and  the  dogs  refused  to  work.  We  had  only 
raw  frozen  fish  to  eat,  so  I  determined  to  return  to  Bulun, 
and  arrived  there  November  27th,  in  a  nearly  exhausted 
condition — feet,  hands,  legs  and  face  badly  frost-bitten — 
having  been  ten  days  in  a  continuous  storm,  remaining  two 
nights  and  one  day  in  one  hole  in  a  snow-bank  without  shel- 
ter of  any  kind. 

From  my  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  from  the  evidence 
of  Noros  and  Nindermann,  I  am  convinced  that  Lieutenant 
DcLong  and  party  are  somewhere  to  the  westward  of  the 
Lena,  and  between  Sisteraneck  and  Bulcour,  which  are  sep- 
arated by  an  extent  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  versts  of 
a  barren  and  desolate  region,  devoid  of  sustenance.  To 


MELVILLE'S  NARBATIVK.  121 

search  that  region  a  large  force  will  be  required,  with  proper 
authority  from  the  Russian  officials.  I  therefore  came  to 
this  place  to  communicate  with  the  United  States,  and  imme- 
diately, with  the  aid  of  the  authorities,  to  organize  searching 
parties. 

In  the  meantime  the  commandant  of  Bulun  is  searching 
with  all  the  force  his  small  town  affords.  The  governor  of 
this  province  has  sent  a  general  order  throughout  the  entire 
region,  from  the  Lena  to  Kolyma,  to  search  for  and  render 
assistance  to  both  parties  that  are  missing.  I  am  now  com- 
pleting my  arrangements,  and  will  start  north  in  a  few  dayeu 
The  Governor-General,  G.  Tschernieff,  is  rendering  ever/ 
assistance  in  his  power. 

The  general  health  of  the  whole  party  is  excellent,  but  Mr. 
Danenhower's  eyes  are  badly  affected.  John  Cole,  seaman, 
suffers  from  aberration  of  the  mind,  and  Herbert  Leach,  sea- 
man, from  frozen  toe.  To-morrow,  Mr.  Danenhower,  with 
nine  men,  will  proceed  to  Irkutsk  and  thence  to  the  Atlantic 
seaboard. 

I  will  keep  James  H.  Bartlett,  first-class  fireman,  and  W. 
F.  C.  Nindermann,  seaman,  with  me.  Mr.  Danenhower  will 
carry  to  the  United  States  the  records  and  the  articles  found 
in  the  cache. 

In  conclusion,  I  call  the  attention  of  the  department  to  the 
upright  and  manly  conduct  of  Master  J.  W.  Danenhower,  who 
cheerfully  rendered  the  most  valuable  assistance  under  the 
most  trying  circumstances,  and  whose  professional  knowl- 
edge I  availed  myself  of  on  all  occasions.  We  were  in  per- 
fect accord  at  all  times,  although  an  unfortunate  circum- 
stance deprived  him  of  his  legitimate  command. 

The  conduct  of  first-class  fireman  James  H.  Bartlett  is 
worthy  of  special  notice.  His  superior  intelligence,  cheerful 
disposition  and  energy  are  highly  commendable.  Also  sea- 
man Herbert  Leach,  who  was  at  the  helm  for  eleven  hours  in 
the  gale,  during  which  time  his  feet  and  legs  were  badl/ 


122  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

frozen ;  after  which  he  worked  manfully  at  the  oars  without 
a  murmur,  enduring  the  most  intense  pain. 
Yours  respectfully,        GEORGE  W.  MELVILLE, 

Passed  Assistant  Engineer,  United  States  Navy. 

Before  leaving  Bulun  for  Yakutsk  in  December,  1881,  Mr. 
Melville  gave  Gregory  M.  Baishoff,  the  Russian  commandant 
at  Bulun,  verbal  directions  to  commence  at  once  a  search  for 
the  missing  seamen ;  and  to  stimulate  the  natives,  a  reward 
was  offered  for  the  recovery  of  the  people,  books  and  papers. 
While  on  his  way  to  Yakutsk  he  also  wrote  to  the  command- 
ant a  letter  of  instructions,  which  was  translated  by  an  exile 
and  conveyed  to  Bulun.  The  following  is  a  copy  thereof : — 

It  is  my  desire  and  the  wish  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  of  the  projectors  of  the 
American  expedition,  that  a  diligent  and  constant  search  be 
made  for  my  missing  comrades  of  both  boats.  Lieutenant 
DeLong  and  his  party,  consisting  of  twelve  persons,  will  be 
found  near  the  west  bank  of  the  Lena  River. 

They  are  south  of  the  small  hunting-station  which  is 
west  of  the  house  known  among  the  Yakuts  as  Qu  Vina. 
They  could  not  possibly  have  marched  as  far  south  as  Bul- 
com.  Therefore,  be  they  dead  or  alive,  they  are  between  Qu 
Vina  and  Bulcour.  I  have  already  traveled  over  this  ground, 
but  I  followed  the  river  bank.  Therefore,  it  is  necessary 
that  a  more  careful  search  be  made  on  the  high  ground  back 
from  the  river  for  a  short  distance,  as  well  as  along  the  river 
bank. 

I  examined  many  huts  and  small  houses,  but  could  not 
possibly  examine  all  of  them.  Therefore  it  is  necessary  that 
all — every  house,  large  or  small — be  examined  for  books  and 
papers  or  the  persons  of  the  party.  Men  without  food  and 
with  but  little  clothing  would  naturally  seek  shelter  in  huts 
along  the  line  of  march,  and  if  exhausted,  might  be  in  one 
of  the  huts. 

They  would  leave  their  books  and  papers  in  a  hut  if 
unable  to  carry  them  further.  If  they  carried  their  books 


INSTRUCTIONS   AS   TO   THE   SEARCH.  123 

and  papers  south  of  that  section  of  the  country  between  Mot 
Vai  and  Bulcour,  they  will  be  found  piled  up  in  a  heap,  and 
some  prominent  object  erected  near  them  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  searching  parties.  A  mast  of  wood  or  pile  of  wood 
would  be  erected  near  them,  if  not  on  top  of  them.  In  case 
books  and  papers  are  found,  they  are  to  be  sent  to  the  Amer- 
ican minister  resident  at  St.  Petersburg.  If  they  are  found 
in  time,  and  can  be  forwarded  to  me  before  I  leave  Russia, 
forward  them  to  me. 

The  persons  of  the  dead  I  wish  to  have  carried  to  a  cen- 
tral position  most  convenient  of  access  to  Bulun,  all  placed 
inside  of  a  small  house,  arranged  side  by  side  for  future 
recognition,  the  hut  then  securely  closed  and  banked  up  with 
enow  or  earth,  and  to  remain  so  until  a  proper  person  arrives 
from  America  to  make  final  disposition  of  the  bodies.  In 
banking  up  the  hut,  have  it  done  in  such  a  manner  that  ani- 
mals cannot  get  in  to  destroy  the  bodies. 

Search  for  the  small  boat  containing  eight  persons 
should  be  made  from  the  west  mouth  of  the  Lena  to  and  be- 
yond the  east  mouth  of  the  Yana  River.  After  the  separa- 
tion of  the  three  boats  no  information  has  been  received  con- 
cerning the  small  boat,  but  as  all  three  boats  were  destined 
to  Barkin  and  then  to  go  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  River,  it 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  Lieutenant  Chipp  directed  his  boat 
to  Barkin  if  he  managed  to  weather  the  gale.  But  if  from 
any  cause  he  could  not  find  a  Lena  mouth,  he  would  con- 
tinue along  the  coast  from  Barkin  west  for  a  north  mouth  of 
the  Lena,  or  south  for  an  eastern  entrance  or  mouth  of  the 
Lena  River.  If  still  unsuccessful  in  getting  into  the  Lena 
River  he  might,  from  stress  of  weather  or  other  cause,  be 
forced  along  the  coast  toward  the  Yana  River. 

Diligent  and  constant  search  is  to  commence  at  once, 
and  to  continue  till  the  people,  books  and  papers  are  found, 
care  being  taken  that  a  vigilant  and  careful  examination  of 
that  section  of  the  country  where  Lieutenant  DeLong  and  his 
party  are  known  to  be  is  made  in  early  spring-time,  when 
the  snow  begins  to  leave  the  ground,  and  before  the  spring 


124 


THE   JE ANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


floods  commence  to  overflow  the  river  banks.  One  or  more 
American  officers  will,  in  all  probability,  be  in  Bulun  in  time 
to  assist  in  the  search ;  but  the  search  mentioned  in  these 
instructions  is  to  be  carried  on  independently  of  any  other 
party,  and  to  be  entirely  under  the  control  of  the  competent 
authority  of  Russia. 


GRAVES  IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST  OF  SIBERIA. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LIEUTENANT  DELONG'8  REOORDa 

T1HE  records  written  by  Lieutenant  DeLong,  which  Mr. 
Melville  secured  during  his  November  search,  extend 
over  a  period  of  twelve  days,  and  the  last  one  was  written 
eight  days  before  Nindermann  and  Noros  were  sent  ahead  for 
assistance.  The  terrible  story  of  hardships  and  privation 
told  by  these  records,  the  statements  of  Nindermann  and 
Noros  as  to  the  condition  of  the  party  eight  days  after  the 
last  record  was  written,  and  his  own  fearful  experiences 
while  searching  for  his  comrades,  must  have  extinguished 
in  Melville's  mind  all  hope  that  they  would  ever  be  rescued 
alive — unless  they  had  found  food  and  shelter  in  some  native 

settlement. 

COPY  OF  RECORD  NO.  1. 

[This  record  was  found  in  the  cache  at  the  landing-place 
of  the  first  cutter,  by  Mr.  Melville,  on  the  14th  day  of 
November,  1881.] 

ARCTIC  EXPLORING  STEAMER  JEANNETTE,  ) 
LENA  DELTA,  Monday,  Sept.  19th,  1881.      ) 
The  following-named  fourteen   persons   belonging  to  the 
Jeannette,  which  was  sunk  by  the  ice  on  June  12th,  1881 ,  in 
latitude  north  77  deg.  15  min.,  longitude  155  deg.,  landed 
here  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  inst.,  and  will  proceed  on 
foot  this  afternoon  to  try  to  reach  a  settlement  on  the  Lena 
River.  GEORGE  W.  BELONG, 

Lieutenant  Commanding. 

1.  Lieutenant  DELONG.        6.  AH  SAM.  11.  W.  LEE. 

2.  Surgeon  AMBLER.  7.  ALEXY.  12.  N.  IVERSOH. 

3.  Mr.  COLLINS.  8.  H.  H.  EBICKBOX.  13.  L.  P.  NoRoa, 

4.  W.  F.  C.  NINDEKHANH.   9.  H.  H.  KAACK.  14.  A.  DRESSLEB. 
fc  A.  GORTB.                       10.  G.  H.  Bom 

(125) 


126  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Whoever  finds  this  paper  is  requested  to  forward  it  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  with  a  note  of  the  time  and  place 
at  which  found. 

[Copies  of  the  above  in  six  languages  followed.] 
A  record  was  left  about  one-half  mile  north  of  the  south- 
ern end  of  Semenoffski  Island,  buried  under  a  stake.  The 
thirty-three  persons  composing  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Jeannette  left  that  island  in  three  boats  on  the  morning 
of  the  12th  inst.  (one  week  ago).  That  same  night  we  were 
separated  in  a  gale  of  wind,  and  have  seen  nothing  of  them 
since.  Orders  had  been  given,  in  the  event  of  such  an  acci- 
dent, for  each  boat  to  make  the  best  of  its  way  to  a  settle- 
ment on  the  Lena  River,  before  waiting  for  anybody.  My 
boat  made  the  land  in  the  morning  of  the  16th  inst.,  and  I 
suppose  we  are  at  the  Lena  Delta.  I  have  had  no  chance 
to  get  sight  for  position  since  I  left  Semenoffski  Island.  After 
trying  for  two  days  to  get  in  shore  without  grounding,  or  to 
reach  one  of  the  river  mouths,  I  abandoned  my  boat  and 
waded  one-and-a-half  miles,  carrying  our  provisions  and 
outfit  with  us.  We  must  now  try,  with  God's  help,  to  walk 
to  a  settlement,  which  I  believe  to  be  ninety-five  miles  dis- 
tant. We  are  all  well ;  have  four  days'  provisions,  arms 
and  ammunition,  and  are  carrying  with  us  only  ship's  books 
and  papers,  and  blankets,  tents,  and  some  medicines ;  there- 
fore our  chance  of  getting  through  seems  good. 

GEORGE  W.  BELONG, 
Lieutenant  United  States  Navy,  Commanding. 

COPY  OF  RECORD  NO.  2. 

[This  record  was  found  in  a  hut  by  a  Yakut  hunter,  and 
given  to  Mr.  Melville  at  Upper  Bulun,  on  the  12th  day  of 
November,,  188t] 

ARCTIC  EXPLORING  STEAMER  JEANNETTE, 

AT  A  HUT  ON  THE  LENA  DELTA, 
BELIEVED  TO  BE  NEAR  TCHOLHOGOJE, 
Thursday,  22d  of  September,  1881. 


.... 


LIEUTENANT   DELONG'8   RECORDS.  127 

The  following-named  persons,  fourteen  of  the  officers  and 
crew  of  the  Jeannette,  reached  this  place  yesterday  after- 
noon, on  foot,  from  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

GEORGE  W.  DE  LONG, 
Commander  of  Expedition,  Lieutenant  U.  S.  Navy. 

Whoever  finds  this  paper  is  requested  to  forward  it  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  with  a  note  of  the  time  and  place 
at  which  it  was  found. 

[Copies  of  the  above  in  six  languages  followed.] 

Lieutenant  BELONG.  A.  GORTZ,  L.  P.  Nonos. 

P.  A.  Surgeon  J.  A.  AMBLER.  G.  H.  BOYD.  W.  LEE. 

Mr.  J.  J.  COLLINS.  N.  IVERSON.  AH  SAM. 

W.  P.   0.   NlNDERMANN.  A.   DRESSLER.  ALEXY. 

H.  H.  ERICKSON.  H.  H.  KAACK. 

The  Jeannette  was  crushed  and  sunk  by  the  ice  on  the 
12th  of  June,  1881,  in  latitude  77  deg.  15  min.  north,  longi- 
tude 155  deg.,  after  having  drifted  twenty-two  months  in 
the  tremendous  pack-ice  of  this  ocean.  The  entire  thirty- 
three  persons  composing  her  officers  and  crew  dragged  three 
boats  and  provisions  over  the  ice  to  latitude  76  deg.  38  min. 
north,  longitude  150  deg.  30  min.  east,  where  we  landed 
upon  a  new  island — Bennett  Island — on  the  29th  of  July. 
From  thence  we  proceeded  southward  in  boats,  sometimes 
dragging  over  ice,  until,  the  10th  of  September,  we  reached 
Semenoffski  Island,  ninety  miles  northeast  of  this  delta. 
We  sailed  from  there  in  company  on  the  12th  of  September, 
but  that  same  night  we  were  separated  in  a  gale  of  wind, 
and  I  have  seen  nothing  since  of  the  two  other  boats  or  their 
people.  They  were  divided  as  follows : — 

SECOND  CUTTER.— Lieutenant  Chipp,  Mr.  Dunbar,  A.  Sweetman, 
W.  Sliarvell,  E.  Star,  H.  D.  Warren,  A.  P.  Kuehne,  and  P.  Johnson. 

WHALE-BOAT. — Past  Assistant  Engineer  Melville,  Master  Danenhower, 
Mr.  Newcomb,  J.  Cole,  J.  H.  Bartlett,  H.  Wilson,  S.  Lauderback,  F. 
Mansen,  Charles  Tong  Sing,  Anequin,  and  H.  W.  Leach. 

My  boat,  having  weathered  the  gale,  made  the  land  on 
the  morning  of  the  16th  inst.,  and  after  trying  to  get  in 
shore  for  two  days,  and  being  prevented  by  shoal  water,  we 
abandoned  the  boat,  and  waded  to  the  beach,  carrying  our 


128  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

arms,  provisions,  and  records,  at  a  point  about  twelve  miles 
to  the  north  and  east  of  this  place.  We  had  all  suffered 
somewhat  from  cold,  wet,  and  exposure,  and  three  of  our 
men  were  badly  lamed  ;  but  having  only  four  days'  provisions 
left,  reduced  rations,  we  were  forced  to  proceed  to  the  south- 
ward. On  Monday,  September  19th,  we  left  a  pile  of  our 
effects  near  the  beach,  erecting  a  long  pole,  where  will  be 
found  everything  valuable — chronometer,  ship's  log-books 
for  two  years,  tent,  &c.,  which  we  were  absolutely  unable  to 
carry.  It  took  us  forty-eight  hours  to  make  these  twelve 
miles,  owing  to  our  disabled  men,  and  these  two  huts  seeined 
to  me  a  good  place  to  stop  while  I  pushed  forward  the  sur- 
geon and  Nindermann  to  get  relief  for  us.  But  last  night  we 
shot  two  reindeer,  which  gives  us  abundance  of  food  for  the 
present,  and  we  have  seen  so  many  more  that  anxiety  for 
the  future  is  relieved.  As  soon  as  our  three  sick  men  can 
walk,  we  shall  resume  our  march  for  a  settlement  on  the 
Lena  River. 

Saturday,  Sept.  24—8  A.  M. 

Our  three  lame  men  being  now  able  to  walk,  we  are 
about  to  resume  our  journey,  with  two  days'  rations  deer- 
meat  and  two  days'  rations  pemmican  and  three  pounds  tea. 

GEORGE  W.  DEL.ONG, 
Lieutenant  Commanding. 

COPY  OP  RECORD  NO.  8. 

[This  record,  and  a  rifle,  were  found  in  a  hut  by  a  Yakut 
hunter,  and  given  to  Mr.  Melville,  at  Upper  Bulun,  on  the 
12th  day  of  November,  1881.] 

Monday,  Sept.  26th,  1881. 

Fourteen  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  United  States 
Arctic  steamer  Jeaunette  reached  this  place  last  evening, 
and  are  proceeding  to  the  southward  this  morning.  A  more 
complete  record  will  be  found  in  a  tinder  case  hung  up  in  a 


LIEUTENANT   DELONG'S  RECORDS.  129 

hnt  fifteen  miles  further  up  the  right  bank  of  the  larger 

stream, 

GEORGE  W.  BELONG, 

Lieutenant  Commanding. 

P.  A.  Surgeon  J.  M.  AMBLEB*  H.  H.  ERICKSON.         L.  P.  NORO&, 

Mr.  J.  J.  COLLINS.  AH  SAM.  W.  LEE, 

A.  GORTZ.  H.  H.  KAACK.  N.  IVERSON. 

W.  F.  C.  NlNDERMANW.  Al.BXY.  Q.  H.  BOYD. 

A.  DRESSLER. 

COPY  OF  RECORD  NO.  4 

[This  record  was  found  in  a  hut  by  a  Yakut  hunter,  and 
given  to  Mr.  Melville,  at  Upper  Bulun,  on  the  12th  day  of  No- 
vember, 1881.] 

Saturday,  Oct.  1st,  1881. 

Fourteen  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  United  States 
Arctic  steamer  Jeannette  reached  this  hut  on  Wednesday, 
September  28th,  and,  having  been  forced  to  wait  for  the  river 
to  freeze  over,  are  proceeding  to  cross  to  the  west  side  this 
A.  M.,  on  their  journey  to  reach  some  settlement  on  the  Lena 
river. 

We  have  two  days'  provisions,  but  having  been  fortunate 
enough  thus  far  to  get  game  in  our  pressing  needs,  we  have 
no  fear  for  the  future. 

Our  party  are  all  well  except  one  man,  Erickson,  whose 
toes  have  been  amputated  in  consequence  of  frost  bite. 
Other  records  will  be  found  in  several  huts  on  the  east  side 
of  this  river,  along  which  we  have  come  from  the  northward. 

GEORGE  W.  BELONG, 
Lieutenant   U.  S.  N.9  Commanding  Expedition. 

P.  A.  Surgeon  AMBLER.     Mr.  J.  J.  COLLINS.        G.  H.  BOYD. 

W.  F.  C.  NlNDERMANN.       A.  DRESSLER,  H.  H.  ERICKSON. 

H.  H.  KAACK.  A.  GORTZ.  N.  IVERSON. 

W.  LEB.  AH  SAM.  L.  P.  NOROS. 

ALKXY. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EXPERIENCES  OF  NINDERMANN,  NOROS,  AND  LEACH. 

IN  Engineer  Melville's  narrative  he  refers  to  a  letter,  ad, 
dressed  to  the  American  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg^ 
which  Mr.  Nindermann  (who  is  a  German)  wrote  at  Bulun 
after  he  and  Noros  had  arrived  there  in  an  exhausted  condi- 
tion. The  following  is  a  verbatim  copy  thereof  : — 

"  BULUN,  October  29 — To  the  American  Minister  St  Peters- 
burg 

Please  inform  the  Secretary  of  U.  S.  Navy  of  the  loss  of 
the  Jeannette 

Arctic  steamer  Jeannette 

Crused  in  the  ice  June  llth  1881  in  lat  77  deg.  22  min.  N., 
longitude  157  deg.  55  min.  E  or  thareabout,  saved  three 
Boats,  also  from  three  to  four  mounths  provisions,  witli  sleds, 
travilled  S.  W  to  to  reach  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  travilled 
two  weeks  or  thareabouts  then  sighted  an  Island,  the  Captain 
determined  reach  it,  and  landed  in  about  two  weeks  on  the 
southern  end  and  planted  the  Americkcn  Flag  and  called  it 
Bennett  Island,  Lieutenant  Chipp  was  sent  on  the  west  side 
to  determin  the  size  with  a  Boats  crew,  Ice  Pilot  Dinbar  with 
the  two  Natives  on  the  East  side,  returned  in  three  days, 
remained  one  week  on  the  Island,  took  to  the  boats  and 
started  South,  made  the  New  Siberian  Islands  and  camped 
on  a  couple  of  them,  set  our  course  from  the  most  Southern 
Island  to  strike  the  North  side  of  Siberia,  to  enter  one  of  the 
small  rivers  to  the  Leana,  on  our  passage  a  gale  of  wind  set 
in,  a  sea  running,  lost  sight  of  the  Boats,  one  in  charge  of 
Lieut  Chipp,  the  other  Engr  Melville,  know  not  what  has  be- 
come of  them,  our  boat  almost  swamped  carryed  away  the 
mast  lost  the  sail,  hove  too  under  a  drag  one  night  and  a 

(ISO) 


131 

day,  shipping  seas  all  the  time  pumps  and  bailers  gowing 
Night  and  Day  all  hands  feet  frostbitten  when  the  gale  was 
over  the  Captain  had  lost  the  use  of  \\isfeat  and  hands  made 
the  cost,  struck  one  of  the  small  rivers,  not  finding  water 
enough  to  enter,  the  Ice  making,  beatting  around  for  two 
days,  the  Captain  determined  to  make  the  land,  the  boat 
struck  two  miles  off  shore  the  Captain  made  everybody  that 
was  able  to  stand  on  his  feet  to  get  over  board,  to  lighten  the 
boat  and  tow  her  in  we  towed  her  one  mile,  could  not  get 
her  any  further,  took  out  the  ship's  papers  and  provisions, 
the  Captain  then  had  got  the  use  of  his  hands  and  feat  a 
little,  in  evening  of  the  25th  of  September.  Names  of  boats 
crew  Captain  DeLong  Surgeon  Ambler  Mr.  Collins,  W.  T.  C. 
Nindermann  Louis  P.  Norris,  H.  H.  Erickson,  H.  H.  Kaack, 
G.  W.  Boyd,  A.  Gortz,  A.  Dressier,  W.  Lee,  N.  Iverson, 
Alexia,  Ah  Sam  and  one  dog  remained  a  few  days  on  the 
seacoast  on  account  of  some  of  the  mens  feet  being  badly 
frost  bitten,  leaving  behind  the  ships  log  and  other  articles, 
not  being  able  to  carry  them,  started  to  travel  south  with 
five  days  provisions.  Erickson,  walking  on  crutches  a  few 
days  after  made  a  sled  to  drag  him,  came  to  a  hut  on  the 
5th  of  October.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  the  Dockter  cut 
off  all  his  toes,  the  Captain  asked  me  if  I  had  strength  to  goo 
to  one  of  the  settlements  with  one  of  the  men  to  get  assist- 
ance, as  he  was  gowing  to  stay  by  Erickson.  While 
talking  about  it  Erickson  Died,  we  Bured  him  in  the 
river  the  Captain  said  we  will  all  go  together  name  of 
place  Owtit  Ary^  lat.  71  deg.  55  min.  north,  long,  not 
known.  Oct.  7th  Eat  our  last  Dog  meat,  started  traville 
south  with  about  one  quart  of  Alkihall,  and  two  tin  cases  of 
ships  papers  two  rifles  and  little  amunition,  travilled  until 
the  9th.  Nothing  to  Eat,  drank  three  ounces  of  Alkihall  a 
day  per  man,  the  Captain  and  the  rest  of  them  got  weak  and 
gave  out  travilling  he  then  sent  me  and  L.  P.  Noros  with 
three  ounces  of  Alkihall  and  one  rifle  and  40  rounds  of  amu- 
nitions  on  ahead  to  a  place  called  Kumak  Surka.  Dis- 
9 


132  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

tance  about  12  twelve  miles  to  find  natives,  if  not  finding  any 
to  traville  south  until  we  did,  took  us  five  days  to  walk  to 
Kumak  Surka,  found  two  fish  took  one  days  rest  started 
south  again  nothing  to  eat,  travilled  untill  the  19th  getting 
weeker  every  day  gave  up  in  dispair,  sat  down  and  rested, 
then  walked  one  mile  found  two  huts  and  a  storehouse, 
where  there  was  about  fifteen  pounds  of  Blue  moulded  Fish 
stoped  three  days  to  regain  strenth,  boath  beaing  to  weak  to 
travill.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  23d  or  thareabouts  a  native 
came  to  the  hut,  we  tryed  to  make  him  understand  that  there 
was  eleven  more  men  north,  could  not  make  him  understand 
he  took  us  too  his  camp  whare  thare  was  six  more,  also  a  lot 
of  sleighs  and  raindeer  they  travilling  at  the  time  south, 
next  morning  broak  camp  came  to  a  settlement  on  the  25th, 
called  Ajakit  there  tryed  again  to  make  the  people  under- 
stand there  was  more  people  north,  did  not  succeed,  Ajakit 
is  lat  70  deg.  55  min.  north,  long,  not  known  as  the  chart  is 
a  coppy,  sent  for  the  govener  to  Bulun,  came  27th  he  knew 
the  ships  name,  and  knew  about  Nordenchawl,  but  could  not 
talk  English,  we  tried  to  make  him  understand  that  the 
Captain  was  in  a  starving  condition  or  probably  dead,  and 
that  we  wanted  natives,  Raindeer  and  food  to  get  them,  as  I 
thought  that  we  could  make  it  in  five  or  six  days  to  save 
them  from  starvation  but  the  Govoner  made  signs  that  he 
had  to  Telegraph  to  St.  Peter sberg,  he  then  sent  us  on  to 
Bulun.  We  stand  in  kneed  of  food  and  clothing  at  present 
our  health  is  in  a  bad  condition  hoping  to  be  well  soon  we 
remain  your  humble  servants, 

WILLIAM  C.  F.  NINDERMANN, 
Louis  P.  NOROS, 
Seamen  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  Steamer  Jeannette." 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  letter  which  Mr.  Noros 
wrote  from  Yakutsk,  to  his  father  who  resides  in  Fall  River, 
Massachusetts : — 

"  On  the  4th  of  September  we  were  frozen  fast  in  pack 
ice,  where  we  remained  drifting  north  and  west  until  the 


NOROS'S   LETTER.  135 

ship  was  crushed  on  June  llth,  1881.  While  being  held 
fast  in  our  icy  cradle  we  had  a  good  time  hunting  bears, 
seals,  walrus,  and  other  game.  We  frequently  had  face, 
nose,  and  ears  frozen,  but  thought  nothing  of  it,  as  we  had 
got  used  to  the  climate. 

After  the  ship  went  down  we  had  a  hundred  days  of  hard 
dragging  and  sailing  in  open  boats.  On  the  night  of  Sep- 
tember 13th  we  had  a  gale  of  wind,  and  the  boats  got  sepa- 
rated. The  boat  that  I  was  in  was  the  captain's  boat.  We 
had  fourteen  men  and  dogs,  and  were  loaded  quite  deep. 
When  we  reached  the  Siberian  coast  we  could  not  land  on 
the  beach  from  boats.  We  had  to  wade  through  ice  and 
water  up  to  our  waists.  We  were  nearly  all  day  carrying 
our  things  to  shore,  and  it  was  dark  before  we  got  through. 
This  was  on  September  17th.  On  the  19th  we  commenced 
our  march.  We  traveled  until  October  6th,  when  one  of  our 
men  died  from  frozen  limbs.  We  had  killed  and  eaten 
our  last  dog  on  that  day. 

On  October  9th  the  captain  sent  Nindermann  and  myself 
on  ahead  to  look  for  assistance  and  food,  none  of  the  party 
having  had  anything  to  eat  for  two  days.  We  started  with- 
out a  particle  of  food.  I  had  a  pair  of  sealskin  trousers. 
We  cut  pieces  from  these  and  chewed  them  until  we  were 
found  by  the  natives.  We  were  so  weak  we  could  hardly 
stand.  I  believe  that  if  we  had  had  to  endure  our  sufferings 
for  two  days  longer  we  would  have  shot  ourselves.  The 
natives  took  us  to  their  camp  and  gave  us  plenty  to  eat  and 
drink.  The  result  was  we  were  both  quite  sick  for  some 
time.  We  were  taken  to  a  village,  and  from  there  to  Bulun. 

At  Bulun  we  tried  to  get  a  telegram  sent,  but  could  not 
make  them  understand.  We  supposed  that  we  were  the 
only  two  men  alive  out  of  the  whole  expedition.  Then  we 
heard  of  a  boat's  crew  landing  at  one  of  the  mouths  of  the 
Lena.  The  boat  proved  to  be  Melville's,  and  as  soon  as  they 
learned  of  our  arrival  at  Bulun  they  joined  us  at  that  place, 
so  there  were  thirteen  of  us  alive." 

While  at  Irkutsk,  Mr.  Jackson,  the  Herald  correspondent, 


136  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

learned  from  Mr.  Noros  the  following  additional  particulars 
respecting  Lieutenant  DeLong  and  his  men  : — 

The  party  made  land  at  a  point  near  the  northernmost 
branch  of  the  Lena,  but  found  it  impossible  to  enter  on 
account  of  shoals.  DeLong  therefore  determined  to  land 
at  a  point  whence  they  could  see  this  northerly  outlet,  but 
more  to  the  east.  Two  miles  from  the  beach,  the  captain 
ordered  those  of  the  men  who  could  walk  to  get  out  and 
drag  the  boat  nearer  in  shore.  The  captain,  the  doctor, 
Erickson  and  Boyd  (both  disabled)  stayed  in  the  boat,  which 
the  others  were  then  enabled  to  drag  a  mile  further  toward 
the  land,  when  they,  too,  waded  to  the  shore. 

Collins  had  left  the  boat  with  the  first  lot  and  had  made 
a  fire  on  the  shore.  This  was  on  or  about  the  16th  of 
September,  and  the  landing  of  articles  was  completed  on  the 
17th.  There  the  party  stayed  two  days  to  recuperate,  all 
the  men  being  badly  frost-bitten ;  the  doctor  alone  was  in 
comparatively  good  condition.  Noros  and  Nindermann  were 
the  best  conditioned  among  the  men. 

The  journey  south  was  then  commenced,  the  burdens 
being  equally  distributed.  The  captain  bore  his  own  blanket 
and  some  records.  The  burdens  borne  by 'some  of  the  others 
'were  heavy ;  some  complained  of  taking  them  further,  but 
the  captain  insisted.  The  party  then  traveled  south  four 
days.  On  the  way  two  deer  were  shot  by  the  Indian  Alexai. 
The  party  sat  down  and  had  a  good  feed,  DeLong' s  motto 
being,  Noros  says,  to  "  feed  well  while  they  had  it." 

Noros  thinks  they  made  twenty  miles  in  the  first  ten  days. 
The  four  next  days  brought  them  to  the  extremity  of  a 
peninsula,  and  after  some  delay,  waiting  for  the  river  to 
freeze,  they  crossed  the  river  to  the  west  bank  on  or  about 
the  1st  of  October.  The  width  of  the  river  was  there  about 
five  hundred  yards.  Before  crossing  they  got  another  deer. 
The  captain's  intention  was  to  make  for  the  place  called 
Sagasta  on  the  map.  Erickson  died.  His  toes  had  been 
amputated  by  the  doctor  during  the  retreat.  After  crossing 
the  river  he  one  night  pulled  off  his  mittens,  and  one  of  his 


PARTING    ON    THE   LENA.  137 

hands  became  frost-bitten  and  circulation  could  not  be 
restored  in  it.  He  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  river. 

Then  it  was  that  the  captain  decided  to  send  Noros  and 
Nindermann  ahead.  The  food  had  been  quite  exhausted ; 
the  party  was  existing  only  on  brandy.  Noros  thinks  it  was 
a  Sunday  when  they  left.  The  captain  had  held  divine 
service,  the  men  seated  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  After 
service  he  called  the  two  men  and  told  them  he  wanted  them 
to  push  on  ahead,  and  that  he  would  follow  with  his  party. 

"If  you  find  game,"  were  his  last  words,  "then  return  to 
us ;  if  you  do  not  then  go  to  Kumak  Surka." 

Noros  thus  describes  the  parting: — "The  captain  read 
divine  service  before  we  left.  All  the  men  shook  hands  with 
us,  and  most  of  them  had  tears  in  their  eyes.  Collins  was 
the  last.  He  simply  said : — 

'  Noros,  when  you  get  to  New  York  remember  me.' 

They  seemed  to  have  lost  hope,  but  as  we  left  they  gave 
us  three  cheers.  We  told  them  we  would  do  all  that  we 
could  do,  and  that  was  the  last  we  saw  of  them.  Snow  had 
fallen  to  a  depth  of  a  foot  or  a  foot  and  a  half." 

The  river  at  this  place  was  about  five  hundred  yards  wide, 
and  the  place  was  near  where  the  mountains  on  the  western 
side  ended.  There  was  one  spot  which  remained  distinctly 
impressed  upon  his  mind — namely,  a  high,  conical,  rocky 
island,  which  rose  up  out  of  the  river,  and  which  he  called 
Ostava,  or  Stalboy.  How  he  got  the  name  is  not  quite  clear. 
But  the  rock  is  a  landmark  in  his  memory,  and  it  bore  about 
east  by  north  from  the  spot  where  they  left  the  captain. 
The  rock  is  just  at  the  end  of  the  mountains ;  the  mountains 
commence  with  that  rock. 

After  leaving  this  rock  the  two  men  traveled  slowly  and 
wearily.  They  sighted  deer  once,  but  could  not  get  near 
them.  They  shot  one  grouse  and  caught  an  eel,  which  was 
all  the  food  they  had.  They  made  a  kind  of  tea  from  the 
bark  of  the  Arctic  willow,  but  often  had  only  hot  water  to 
drink.  They  chewed  and  ate  portions  of  their  skin  breeches, 
and  the  leather  soles  of  their  moccasins.  About  two  days 


138  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

after  leaving  the  captain  they  crossed  the  Lena  to  the  east 
side,  in  the  hope  of  finding  game  in  the  mountains,  and  it 
took  them  a  very  long  time  to  cross  the  ice  at  that  point. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  a  letter  written  by  Seaman 
Leach  to  his  mother  at  Penobscot,  Maine,  after  his  arrival 
at  Irkutsk : — 

MY  DEAR  MOTHER, — Your  welcome  letter  came  to  hand 
last  night.  I  was  at  a  party,  enjoying  myself  as  well  as 
possible  for  me  to  do  here,  when  one  of  the  boys  came 
running  in  and  gave  me  nine  letters  from  home.  Oh, 
mother,  you  should  have  seen  me  dance  around  the  room. 
The  young  ladies  all  thought  I  was  crazy.  They  were  about 
right.  After  nearly  three,  years  without  hearing  a  single 
word  from  home,  the  news,  when  it  did  come,  quite  upset 
me.  Well,  I  will  try  to  give  an  account  of  myself.  I  will 
begin  at  the  beginning. 

After  passing  through  Bering's  Strait  we  stood  north 
until  we  struck  the  ice.  We  ran  into  it  and  it  closed  around 
us.  We  had  thirty-three  of  the  best  boys  on  board  that  ever 
walked  a  ship's  deck.  Poor  fellows !  only  thirteen  are  left 
to  tell  the  sad  tale.  After  getting  into  the  ice  we  made 
preparations  to  spend  the  winter,  expecting  to  get  out  the 
following  summer.  We  spent  the  winter  very  pleasantly- 
had  theatricals  Christmas  and  New  Year.  It  was  very  cold, 
but  we  all  enjoyed  it  tip-top.  The  winter  passed,  and  so  did 
the  summer,  without  any  signs  of  our  being  released;  so. we 
made  up  our  minds  to  stay  another  winter.  It  passed  quite 
pleasantly,  although  three  months  of  the  time  we  did  not 
see  the  sun.  It  looked  good  when  it  did  come  up :  I  think 
it  was  worth  waiting  for. 

We  laid  in  the  ice  until  June,  when  our  ship  (our  home) 
was  taken  from  us.  Then  our  hardships  began.  Oh,  mother, 
you  can  have  no  idea  of  what  we  went  through.  When  I 
look  back  it  seems  more  like  a  strange  dream  than  a  reality. 
But  it  is  over  now,  and  we  that  pulled  through  are  safe. 
About  eight  days  before  we  reached  the  coast  we  encountered 
a  heavy  gale,  which  nearly  put  an  end  to  our  sufferings. 


LEACH'S  LETTER.  189 

When  it  commenced  to  blow  the  lieutenant  put  me  at  the 
helm.  It  was  very  cold,  and  the  boat  was  nearly  full  of 
water  all  the  time,  in  spite  of  the  men's  bailing  for  dear  life. 
I  sat  at  the  helm  about  fourteen  hours  before  the  wind 
abated  enough  for  me  to  be  relieved.  When  the  time  came 
I  rose  up*  and  fell  flat  into  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  My  feet 
were  frozen  stiff,  and  my  legs  were  chilled  up  to  my  body  so 
badly  that  I  think  they  could  have  been  taken  off  without 
my  feeling  it. 

When  we  got  ashore  I  was  in  a  tight  fix.  I  could  not 
walk,  and  was  in  much  pain,  and  my  feet  had  begun  to 
putrefy.  Bartlett,  one  of  the  men,  took  a  knife  and  cut  out 
the  corrupt  places,  and  cut  about  half  of  one  of  my  great 
toes  off,  leaving  about  half  an  inch  of.  the  bone  sticking  out 
of  the  end.  About  a  month  ago  I  found  a  doctor  who  took 
it  off.  It  troubles  me  to  walk  now,  and  I  think  that  it  will 
for  some  time. 

Guess  I  have  written  enough  about  my  trials ;  will  tell  you 
something  about  the  people  I  find  here  in  Irkutsk.  The 
ladies  here  call  me  the  savior — they  have  heard  about  the 
boat  scrape.  We  are  received  by  the  best  families  in  town. 
They  seem  to  think  it  a  feather  in  their  caps  to  have  the 
Americans  call  on  them.  I  make  myself  as  agreeable  as 
possible.  The  life  is  not  altogether  crushed  out  of  me  if  I 
am  a  little  run  down.  By  the  way,  they  are  going  to  form 
a  search  party,  and  I  think  it  is  my  duty  to  join  it  and  search 
for  the  poor  boys  that  are  left.  I  don't  know  yet  whether  I 
shall  go  or  not.  If  I  do  you  must  not  worry  about  me,  for 
we  shall  not  start  before  spring,  and  will  get  back  next  fall ; 
so  you  see  it  will  not  be  long  to  wait,  and  no  risk  to  run,  and 
besides  you  want  to  see  your  son  do  by  another  as  you  would 
have  another  do  by  him.  Gracious  !  how  I  want  to  see  the 
folks  at  home.  Give  my  love  to  everybody,  in  town  and 
out,  keep  the  lion's  share  for  yourself,  and  believe  me,  your 
loving  son,  HERBERT." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

YAKUTSK— TOWN  AND  PROVINCE. 

"^TAKUTSK,  or  the  <  city  of  the  Yakuts'  as  the  natives 
JL  proudly  call  it,  where  the  survivors  of  the  expedition 
found  the  first  comforts  of  civilized  life  after  their  long 
journey,  is  situated  on  the  Lena  River  near  latitude  62° 
north.  It  is  the  capital  and  chief  town  of  the  province  of 
Yakutsk, — one  of  the  six  into  which  Eastern  Siberia  is 
divided — and  a  commercial  center  of  the  fur  and  ivory  trade. 

The  region  of  the  Upper  Lena  has  been  subject  to  the 
Russian  power  for  250  years.  After  crossing  the  Yenisei, 
the  Cossack  conquerors  of  Siberia  advanced  to  the  shores 
of  Lake  Baikal,  and  in  1620  attacked  and  partly  defeated 
the  populous  and  warlike  nation  of  the  Buriats.  Then, 
turning  northward  to  the  Lena,  they  descended  the  river  to 
the  principal  town  of  the  Yakuts,  where,  in  1632,  they 
founded  the  city  of  Yakutsk,  and  after  considerable  resist- 
ance made  subject  the  powerful  nation  of  the  Yakuts. 

The  province  of  Yakutsk  is  the  largest  in  Siberia,  and 
covers  an  area  of  no  less  than  a  million  and  a  half  of  square 
miles.  The  population,  consisting  almost  wholly  of  natives, 
— Tunguses,  Yakuts  and  Yukaghirs — is  estimated  at  235,000 ; 
making  about  one  inhabitant  to  every  seven  square  miles. 

The  Russian  population  of  the  province  is  about  7,000? 
and  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  the  valley  of  the  Lena, 
Yakutsk,  and  its  neighborhood.  In  the  most  northern 
villages  of  Siberia  their  dwelling  places  consist  of  cabins, 
built  of  logs  or  planks  from  broken-up  lighters,  and  having 
flat,  turf-covered  roofs.  Such  carvings  and  ornaments  as 
are  commonly  found  on  the  houses  of  well-to-do  Russian 
peasants  are  here  completely  wanting. 

(140) 


RUSSIAN    PEASANTS   IN    SIBERIA. 


141 


Further  south  the  villages  are  larger,  and  the  houses  of 
the  Russians  finer,  with  raised  roofs  and  high  gables  richly 
ornamented  with  wood  carvings.  There  is  usually  a  church 


SIBERIAN  VILLAGE  CHURCH. 

painted  in  bright  colors,  and  everything  indicates  a  degree 
of  prosperity.  In  the  center  of  the  house  is  a  brick  stove, 
and  the  walls  of  the  rooms  are  white-washed  or  papered,  and 
adorned  with  pictures  according  to  the  means  and  taste  of 
the  owner — portraits  of  the  Imperial  family,  battle  scenes, 
lithographs  of  the  saints,  and  family  photographs.  Sacred 


142 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


pictures  are  placed  in  a  corner,  and  before  them  hang  small 
oil  lamps  or  wax-candles  which  are  lighted  on  festive 
occasions. 

The  sleeping  place  is  formed  of  a  bedstead  near  the  roof, 
so  large  that  it  occupies  a  third  of  the  room.  The  top  of 
the  stove  is  also  used-  as  a  sleeping  place  at  times.  Food  is 


RUSSIAN  PEASANT,  WITH  SAMOVAR. 


cooked  ill  large  baking  ovens.  Fresh  bread  is  baked  every 
day,  and  even  for  the  poor,  a  large  tea  urn  (samovar)  is  an 
almost  indispensable  household  article.  The  foreigner  is 
certain  to  receive  a  hearty  welcome  when  he  crosses  the 
threshold,  and  if  he  stays  a  short  time,  he  will  generally, 


YUKAGHIRS   AND   TUNGUSES. 


143 


whatever  time  of  the  day  it  be,  find  himself  drinking  a 
glass  of  tea  with  his  host. 

Along  with  the  dwellings  of  the  Russians,  the  tents  of  the 
natives,  or  "Asiatics,"  are  often  seen;  and  near  them  are 
generally  a  large  number  of  dogs,  which  are  used  in  summer 
for  towing  boats,  and  in  winter  for  drawing  sledges. 


OSTYAK  TENTS  MADE  OF  BIRCH  BARK. 

Very  little  is  known  of  the  Yukaghirs,  who  roam  over  the 
northern  portion  of  the  tundra ;  their  numbers  are  few, 
although  at  one  time,  as  their  legend  says,  there  were  more 
hearths  of  Yukaghirs  on  the  banks  of  the  Kolyma  than 
stars  in  the  sky.  They  were  no  doubt  once  a  powerful  race, 
and  on  the  rivers  Yana  and  Indigirka  tumuli  and  ancient 
burial-places  are  pointed  out  containing,  with  the  remains  of 
the  natives,  bows,  arrows,  spears,  and  the  magic  drum. 

The  Tunguses  wander  over  a  larger  area  than  any  other 
tribe  in  Siberia,  stretching  through  Manchuria  across  the 
district  of  the  Amoor,  and  northeast  and  west  to  the  sea  of 
Okhotsk  and  to  the  Yenisei.  Of  the  Tunguse  family  the 
Manchu  is  the  most  civilized,  while  in  Siberia  we  have  them 


144  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

in  their  extreme  character  of  rude  nomads,  unlettered,  and 
still  pagan,  or  but  imperfectly  Christianized.  The  Tungusian 
approaches  the  Mongolian,  the  Ostjak,  or  the  Eskimo,  accord- 
ing as  his  residence  is  north  or  south ;  within  the  limit  of 
the  growth  of  trees  or  beyond  it ;  on  the  champaign,  the 
steppe,  or  the  tundra.  On  the  tundra  the  horse  ceases  to  be 
his  domestic  animal,  and  the  reindeer  or  the  dog  replace  it. 
Hence  we  hear  of  three  divisions  of  the  Tunguse  family, 
called  by  different  names,  according  as  they  possess  horses, 
reindeer,  or  dogs. 

In  the  center  of  the  province,  occupying  the  valley  of  the 
Lena,  roam  the  Yakuts.  They  are  of  middle  height,  and 
of  a  light  copper  color,  with  black  hair,  which  the  men  cut 
short.  They  belong  to  the  great  Turk  family,  and  as  a  race 
are  good-tempered,  orderly,  hospitable,  and  capable  of  endur- 
ing great  privation  patiently ;  but  they  have  not  the  independ- 
ence of  character  which  distinguishes  their  Tunguse  neigh- 
bors. Some  travelers  see  in  them  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  North  American  Indians. 

The  winter  dwellings  of  the  Yakuts  have  doors  of  raw 
hides,  and  log  or  wicker  walls  calked  with  cow-dung,  and 
flanked  with  banks  of  earth  to  the  height  of  the  windows. 
The  latter  are  made  of  sheets  of  ice,  kept  in  their  place  from 
the  outside  by  a  slanting  pole,  the  lower  end  of  which  is 
fixed  in  the  ground.  They  are  rendered  air-tight  by  pouring 
on  water,  which  quickly  freezes  round  the  edges.  The  flat 
roof  is  covered  with  earth,  and  over  the  door,  facing  the 
east,  the  boards  project,  making  a  covered  place  in  front. 
Under  the  same  roof  are  the  winter  shelters  for  the  cows 
and  for  the  people,  the  former  being  the  larger.  The  fire- 
place consists  of  a  wicker  frame  plastered  over  with  clay, 
room  being  left  for  a  man  to  pass  between  the  fireplace  and 
the  wall.  The  hearth  is  made  of  beaten  earth,  and  on  it 
there  is  at  all  times  a  blazing  fire,  and  logs  of  larchwood 
throw  up  showers  of  sparks  to  the  roof.  Young  calves,  like 
children,  are  often  brought  into  the  house  to  the  fire,  whilst 
their  mothers  cast  a  contented  look  through  the  open  door 


NATIVE   WINTER   DWELLINGS.  146 

at  the  back  of  the  fireplace.  Behind  the  fireplace,  too,  are 
the  sleeping-places  of  the  people,  which  in  the  poorer  dwell- 
ings consist  only  of  a  continuation  of  the  straw  laid  in  the 
cow-house. 

In  the  winter  they  have  but  about  five  hours  of  day-light, 
which  penetrates  as  best  it  can  through  the  icy  windows  ; 
and  in  the  evening  all  the  party  sit  round  the  fire  on  low 
stools,  men  and  women  smoking.  The  summer  yourts  of 
these  people  are  formed  of  poles  about  20  feet  long,  which 
are  united  at  the  top  into  a  roomy  cone,  covered  with  pieces 
of  bright  yellow  and  perfectly  flexible  birch  bark,  which  are 
not  merely  joined  together,  but  are  also  handsomely  worked 
along  the  seams  with  horsehair  thread.  The  houses  are  not 
over-stocked  with  furniture,  and  the  chief  cooking-utensil  is 
a  large  iron  pot. 

The  Yakuts  who  inhabit  the  inclement  region  adjacent  to 
the  Frozen  Ocean  have  neither  horses  nor  oxen,  but  breed 
large  numbers  of  dogs,  which  draw  them  to  and  fro  on  their 
fishing  excursions.  Even  those  living  on  the  62d  parallel 
keep  cattle  under  far  greater  difficulties  than  usual,  for  they 
have  to  make  long  journeys  to  collect  hay,  and  do  not  always 
find  enough.  The  cold  prevents  their  breeding  sheep,  goats, 
or  poultry.  Nevertheless,  cattle  and  hunting  are  their  chief 
means  of  subsistence,  for  they  do  not  in  general  cultivate 
the  land,  though  in  the  gardens  at  Yakutsk  are  grown  pota- 
toes, cabbages,  radishes,  and  turnips.  Some  products  of 
Yakutsk  industry  are  purchased  by  the  Russians,  particular- 
ly floor-cloths  of  white  and  colored  felts,  which  are  cut  in 
strips  and  sewed  together  like  mosaic.  From  the  earliest 
times  they  have  been  a.ble  to  procure  and  work  for  them- 
selves metal.  The  language  of  the  Yakuts,  which  is  largely 
spoken  by  the  Russians  who  live  among  them,  is  one  of  the 
principal  means  by  which  we  are  led  to  assume  their  Turkish 
origin,  for  Latham  says  their  speech  is  intelligible  at  Con- 
stantinople, and  their  traditions  (for  literature  they  have 
none)  bespeak  a  southern  origin. 

Strahlenberg   calls  these  people  pagans,  but  the  latest 


146 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


writers  call  them  Christians  ;  and  the  method  of  their  con- 
version was,  it  is  said,  extraordinary  ;  for  the  Russian  priests 
not  making  much  headway  against  their  superstitions,  an 
ukase  was  one  day  issued  setting  forth  that  the  good  and 


NATIVE  GIRLS  OF  YAKUTSK  IN  WINTER  COSTUME. 

loyal  nation  of  the  Yakuts  were  thought  worthy  to  enter, 
and  were  consequently  admitted  into,  the  Russian  Church, 
to  become  a  part  of  the  Czar's  Christian  family,  and  entitled 
to  all  the  privileges  of  the  rest  of  his  children.  Success  at- 
tended the  measure.  The  new  Christians  showed  perfect 
sincerity  in  the  adoption  of  their  novel  faith,  and  the  Rus- 
sian priests  have  established  their  sway  over  the  Yakut  race, 


THE   ASIATIC   POLE   OF   COLD. 


14T 


though  amongst  the  outlying  portion  a  lingering  belief  in 
Shamanism  still  survives. 

The  town  of  Yakutsk  has  a  population  of  about  5,000  per- 
sons, some  of  whom  are  political  exiles.  All  the  Russian 
inhabitants  might  well  be  considered  exiles,  for  they  are 
over  5,000  miles  from  St.  Petersburg.  The  town  presents  a 
curious  medley  of  dwellings,  for  there  are  seen  the  govern- 
ment buildings,  the  cathedral  and  churches,  the  wooden 
houses  of  the  Russians,  and  also  the  less  pretentious  winter 
dwellings  of  the  Yakuts,  arid  even  their  summer  yourts. 


YAKUTSK  IN  OUR  DAYS. 

The  cathedral  is  built  of  stone,  and  dedicated  to  St. 
Nicholas,  and  there  are  in  the  town  some  half-dozen  churches 
in  which  parts,  or  all,  of  the  service  is  performed  in  the 
Yakut  language.  The  chief  ecclesiastic  is  Dionysius,  Bishop 
of  Yakutsk  and  Yiluisk,  who  has  in  his  hyperborean  diocese 
49  churches  and  chapels,  and  one  monastery  containing  a 
dozen  monks. 

According  to  Sir  Edward  Brewster  the  town  of  Yakutsk 
is  near  the  Asiatic  pole  of  cold — one  of  the  two  coldest 


148  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

places  on  the  globe.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  air  is 
18.5  Fahrenheit.  At  times  the  cold  reaches  70°  below  zero, 
and  mercury  is  frozen  for  one-sixth  of  the  year.  A  warm 
summer  follows  the  cold  winter ;  the  ground  is  then  thawed 
three  feet  deep,  and  though  the  crops  rest  on  perpetually 
frozen  strata,  yet  they  produce  from  fifteen  to  forty-fold. 
Oxen  here  take  the  places  of  horses,  and  men  and  girls  ride 
them  astride.  When  used  to  draw  sledges,  the  driver  is 
perched  on  the  back  of  one  of  the  oxen. 

So  accustomed  do  the  natives  become  to  the  cold,  that 
even  with  the  thermometer  at  many  degrees  below  freezing 
point,  the  Yakut  women,  with  bare  arms,  stand  in  the  open- 
air  markets,  chatting  and  joking  as  pleasantly  as  in  genial 
spring.  In  fact,  the  great  cold  is  not  thought  a  grievance 
in  Siberia,  for  a  man  clothed  in  furs  may  sleep  at  night  in 
an  open  sledge  when  the  mercury  freezes  in  the  thermom- 
eter ;  and  wrapped  up  in  his  pelisse,  he  can  lie  without 
inconvenience  on  the  snow  under  a  tent  where  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  air  is  30°  below  zero. 

John  Ledyard,  referred  to  in  a  former  chapter,  resided  at 
Yakutsk  in  the  winter  of  1787,  and  was  an  attentive  observer 
of  whatever  came  under  his  notice.  The  following  are  ex- 
tracts from  the  journal  which  he  kept  at  Yakutsk : — 

"  The  people  in  Yakutsk  have  no  wells.  They  have  tried 
them  to  a  very  great  depth,  but  they  freeze  over — even  in 
summer  ;  consequently  they  have  all  their  water  from  the 
river.  But  in  winter  they  cannot  bring  water  in  its  fluid 
state  ;  it  freezes  on  the  way.  It  is,  therefore,  brought  in 
large  cakes  of  ice  to  their  houses,  and  piled  up  in  their 
yards.  Milk  is  brought  to  market  in  the  same  way.  A 
Yakuti  came  into  our  house  to-day  with  a  bag  full  of  ice. 
'What,'  said  I, ' has  the  man  brought  ice  to  sell  in  Siberia?' 
It  was  milk.  Clear  mercury  exposed  to  the  air  is  constantly 
frozen. 

"  In  these  severe  frosts  the  air  is  condensed  like  a  thick 
fog;  the  atmosphere  itself  is  frozen;  respiration  is  fatiguing; 
all  exercise  must  be  moderate  as  possible.  In  these  seasons 


A    CASE   OP  JEALOUSY.  149 

there  is  no  chase ;  the  animals  submit  themselves  to  hunger 
and  security,  and  so  does  man.  All  nature  groans  beneath 
the  vigorous  winter. 

"  The  Russians  have  been  here  150  years,  and  the  Yakuti 
Tartars  have  been  under  the  Russian  government  ever  since  ; 
yet  they  have  made  no  alteration  in  their  dress  in  general : 
but  the  Russians  have  conformed  to  the  dress  of  the  Yakuti. 
They  appear  to  live  together  in  peace  and  harmony,  but  the 
Yakuti  hold  no  offices,  civil  or  military. 

"  The  Tartar  is  a  man  of  nature,  not  of  art.  He  is  a 
lover  of  peace.  No  lawyer  here  perplexing  natural  rights  of 
property.  No  wanton  Helen,  displaying  fatal  charms.  No 
priest  with  his  outrageous  zeal  has  ever  disturbed  the  peace. 
Never,  I  believe,  did  the  Tartar  speak  ill  of  the  Deity,  or 
envy  his  fellow-creatures.  He  is  contented  to  be  what  he  is. 
Hospitable  and  humane,  he  is  uniformly  tranquil  and  cheer- 
ful, laconic  in  thought,  word  and  action.  Those  that  live 
with  the  Russians  in  their  villages  are  above  mediocrity  as 
to  riches,  but  discover  the  same  indifference  about  accumu- 
lating more  and  for  the  concerns  of  to-morrow  that  a  North 
American  Indian  does.  If  it  happens  that  they  profess  the 
Russian  religion,  they  treat  it  with  strange  indifference,  not 
unthinkingly,  but  because  they  do  not  think  at  all. 

"  The  house  of  the  Russian  is  a  scene  of  busy  occupation, 
filled  with  furniture,  provisions,  women,  children,  dirt,  and 
noise  ;  that  of  the  Tartar  is  as  silent  and  as  clean  as  a 
mosque.  There  is  very  little  furniture,  and  that  is  rolled 
up  and  bound  in  parcels  in  a  corner  of  the  house. 

"  So  strong  is  the  propensity  of  the  Russian  to  jealousy, 
that  an  ordinary  Russian  will  be  displeased  if  one  even  en- 
deavors to  gain  the  good- will  of  his  dog.  I  affronted  the 
commandant  of  this  town  very  highly  by  permitting  his  dog 
to  walk  with  me  one  afternoon.  He  expostulated  with  me 
very  seriously.  I  live  with  a  young  Russian  officer,  with 
whom  I  came  from  Irkutsk.  No  circumstance  has  ever  in- 
terrupted the  harmony  between  us  but  his  dogs.  They  have 
10 


150  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

done  it  twice.  A  pretty  little  puppy  he  has  came  to  me  one 
day  and  jumped  upon  my  knee.  I  patted  his  head  and  gave 
him  some  bread.  The  man  flew  at  the  dog  in  the  utmost 
rage,  and  gave  him  a  blow  which  broke  his  leg.  I  bid  him 
beware  how  he  disturbed  my  peace  a  third  time  by  this  ras- 
cally passion. 

"  I  have  observed  among  all  nations  that  the  women  orna- 
ment themselves  more  than  the  men  ;  that,  wherever  found, 
they  are  the  same  kind, civil,  obliging, humane, tender  beings; 
that  they  are  ever  inclined  to  be  gay  and  cheerful,  humorous 
and  modest.  They  do  not  hesitate,  like  man,  to  perform  a 
hospitable  or  generous  action ;  not  haughty,  not  arrogant, 
nor  supercilious,  but  full  of  courtesy  and  fond  of  society ; 
industrious,  economical,  ingenuous,  more  liable  in  general  to 
err  than  man,  but  in  general,  also,  more  virtuous,  and  per- 
forming more  good  actions  than  he.  I  never  addressed  my- 
self in  the  language  of  decency  and  friendship  to  a  woman, 
whether  civilized  or  savage,  without  receiving  a  decent  and 
friendly  answer.  With  man  it  has  often  been  otherwise. 
In  wandering  over  the  barren  plains  of  inhospitable  Den- 
mark, through  honest  Sweden,  frozen  Lapland,  rude  and 
churlish  Finland,  unprincipled  Russia,  and  the  wide-spread 
regions  of  the  wandering  Tartar,  if  hungry,  dry,  cold,  wet, 
or  sick,  woman  has  ever  been  friendly  to  me,  and  uniformly 
so ;  and  to  add  to  this  virtue,  so  worthy  of  the  appellation 
of  benevolence,  these  actions  have  been  performed  in  so 
free  and  so  kind  a  manner,  that  if  I  was  dry  I  drank  the 
sweet  draught,  and  if  hungry  ate  the  coarse  morsel,  with  a 
double  relish." 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  letter  which  Lieutenant 
Danenhower  wrote  to  his  mother  while  in  Yakutsk.  It  was 
dated  December  30th,  1881,  and  published  in  the  New  York 
Herald  : — 

"  The  events  of  the  last  two  and  a  half  years  are  of  course 
unknown  to  me,  and  it  is  with  mingled  feelings  of  doubt, 
hope,  and  fear  that  I  write  this  letter.  But  I  always  hope 


LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER'S   LETTER.  151 

for  the  best,  and  I  am  disposed  to  look  upon  the  bright  side. 
That  sort  of  philosophy  has  carried  me  through  very  trying 
experiences  during  the  past  three  years  when  there  seemed 
to  be  a  very  forlorn  hope  for  me. 

"  We  are  passing  the  time  quietly,  but  impatiently.  I  will 
give  you  an  idea  of  how  we  live.  It  is  daylight  here  about 
eight  A.  M.  We  get  up  and  have  breakfast  at  a  little  hotel 
that  is  handy  by.  The  forenoon  I  spend  in  reading  a  little, 
writing  a  little,  and  in  attending  to  any  business  that  I  may 
happen  to  have  on  hand.  About  two  P.  M.  General  Tcher- 
nieff's  sleigh  arrives,  and  I  go  to  dine  with  him;  generally 
return  about  four  p.  M.,and  if  I  do  not  have  visitors  I  take  a 
nap  and  kill  time  as  well  as  I  can  until  nine  P.  M.,  when  we 
have  supper  at  the  little  hotel  and  then  go  to  bed. 

"  As  I  have  told  you  before,  I  have  found  nice  people  in 
every  part  of  the  world  that  I  have  visited,  and  this  place  is 
by  no  means  an  exception.  Last  evening,  for  example,  we 
spent  very  pleasantly  at  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Carrilkoff,  an 
Irkutsk  merchant,  who  entertained  us  very  well.  His  wife  is 
a  charming  lady,  and  it  was  very  pleasant  to  see  their  three 
beautiful  children.  They  have  a  fine  piano,  the  first  one  we 
have  seen  since  leaving  San  Francisco. 

"  I .  took  our  sick  man,  Jack  Cole,  with  me  to  give  him  a 
little  diversion.  He  behaved  very  well  and  the  visit  did 
him  good.  After  my  experience  of  the  night  before  I  was 
very  glad  to  have  him  quiet  yesterday.  Some  time  after 
midnight  I  was  awakened  by  a  noise  in  my  room.  It  was 
the  'old  man'  looking  for  a  match.  I  took  him  to  task 
sharply  and  sent  himr  to  bed.  He  went  quietly,  but  after  a 
little  while  I  heard  him  go  out ;  I  waited  five  minutes, 
and,  as  he  did  not  return,  I  awoke  the  Cossack  and  sent  him 
to  look  for  the  'old  man.'  He  returned  without  finding  him; 
I  immediately  dressed  and  went  to  the  office  of  the  Police 
Master  and  had  the  town  searched  for  him.  I  was  afraid 
that  he  would  lie  down  on  the  snow,  as  he  did  on  one  occa- 
sion in  the  mountains.  He  was  brought  back  within  an 
hour  with  his  toes  frozen.  I  immediately  applied  snow  to 


152  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

them,  and  got  the  frost  out  of  them,  but  he  will  probably 
suffer  from  chilblains  for  a  long  time.  The  next  morning 
he  was  quiet  and  reasonable,  and  he  begged  me  to  have 
him  well  guarded,  for  at  times  he  is  out  of  his  head.  He  is 
a  very  worthy  man,  nearly  fifty  years  of  age,  and  has  been  a 
very  excellent  man  in  his  time.  The  great  trouble  at  pre- 
sent is  that  he  has  to  be  idle,  there  being  nothing  for  him  to 
do  but  kill  time. 

"  Yakutsk  is  a  city  of  5,000  inhabitants,  and  is  situated 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Lena  River.  It  is  the  chief  city  in 
this  part  of  Siberia,  and  is  the  residence  of  the  Governor 
General  Tchernieff.  The  houses  are  built  of  wood  and  are 
not  painted.  The  streets  are  very  wide,  and  each  house  has 
a  large  yard  or  court.  The  principal  trade  is  in  furs,  and  in 
summer  a  great  deal  of  fresh  meat  is  sent  up  the  river. 
This  is  a  very  cold  place.  During  nine  months  of  the  year 
snow  and  ice  abound.  In  the  winter  the  thermometer  falls 
to  70  degrees  below  zero.  Since  our  arrival  it  has  been  68 
degrees  below,  and  to-day  it  is  only  35  or  thereabouts.  In 
the  summer  the  temperature  rises  as  high  as  95  degrees,  but 
the  nights  are  cold. 

"  There  are  many  horses  and  cows  in  this  vicinity.  The 
natives  of  Yakutsk  eat  horse-meat,  but  the  Russians  eat  beef 
and  venison,  potatoes,  cabbage,  and  a  few  other  vegetables. 
A  few  berries,  wheat,  and  rye  are  grown  in  this  vicinity. 
There  are  a  few  sheep  and  poultry  also.  The  Russian 
Christmas  is  twelve  days  after  ours.  They  have  a  great 
round  of  festivities  during  the  Prasnik.  In  fact  it  has  al- 
ready commenced,  and  it  is  hard  to  get  any  work  done.  I 
went  to  the  tailor's  to  get  some  clothes  made  and  he  refused 
to  take  any  more  work. 

"  Of  course  there  is  very  little  American  news  in  this  far- 
away place,  but  I  have  been  able  to  pick  up  a  few  bits  of  it 
here  and  there.  The  death  of  Garfield  is  a  topic  often  men- 
tioned, and  from  the  accounts  here  I  learn  that  he  was  shot 
by  '  Guiott,'  on  the  train  near  Long  Branch.  A  great  deal 
of  interest  and  sympathy  is  manifested  by  the  Russians." 


A  WINTER  JOURNEY. 


153 


On  the  8th  of  January,  1882,  Lieutenant  Danenhower, 
Raymond  L.  Newcomb  (Naturalist,)  Herbert  Leach,  Henry 
Wilson,  Frank  Mansen,  George  Lauderback,  Louis  P.  Noros, 
Jack  Cole,  the  Chinaman  Tong  Sing,  and  the  Indian  Anequin, 
left  Yakutsk,  and  started  for  Irkutsk,  2,790  versts,  or  more 
than  1,900  miles  distant.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  Cos- 
sack guide,  and  traveled  slowly  in  sledges  called  povvshkas, 
which  could  be  partly  or  entirely  covered,  as  the  traveler 
chose. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

IRKUTSK. 

IRKUTSK  is  the  capital  of  Eastern  Siberia,  and  also  of 
the  province  of  the  same  name.  It  was  founded  in 
1680,  and  in  1879  had  a  population  of  33,000.  Geographi- 
cally it  is  in  latitude  52  deg.  40  min.  north,  and  it  is  about 
1,300  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Although  a  cold  place 
in  winter,  the  climate  is  generally  well  spoken  of ;  high 
winds  and  storms  are  less  prevalent  than  in  St.  Petersburg 
and  Moscow,  and  the  fall  of  snow  is  not  large.  Earthquakes 
are  not  infrequent. 

Much  has  been  written  in  praise  of  Irkutsk  by  travelers 
coming  from  China  or  traveling  eastward,  and  they  have 
found  it  a  cheerful  restingplace  after  the  fatigues  of  a  long 
overland  journey.  In  summer  the  city  is  approached  from 
the  west  over  a  road  lying  near  the  cold  and  swiftly-flowing 
Angara,  and  the  plains  around  are  stocked  with  cattle.  The 
town  is  built  on  a  tongue  of  land  formed  by  the  confluence 
of  the  Angara  and  Uska-Kofka,  and  with  its  numerous 
churches,  domes,  and  spires,  looks  extremely  inviting. 
Handsome  villas,  nestling  among  the  trees  on  the  hills 
around,  add  not  a  little  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene  ; 
and  both  in  summer  and  winter  the  panorama  of  the  city 
and  its  suburbs  is  one  of  much  beauty. 

Forty  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Irkutsk  is  the  celebrated 
Lake  Baikal,  over  400  miles  long,  about '35  miles  broad,  and 
the  largest  body  of  fresh  water  in  the  world.  It  has  nearly 
200  tributaries,  large  and  small,  and  only  one  outlet,  the 
Angara,  which  discharges  about  one-tenth  of  the  water  that 
flows  into  the  lake.  No  one  knows  what  becomes  of  the 
remainder,  but  the  natives  believe  there  is  an  underground 

(154) 


THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  ANGARA. 


channel  to  the  sea.     The  lake  is  very  deep,  and  in  some 
places  no  bottom  has  been  found  at  a  depth  of  2,000  feet. 

Shortly  after  leaving  Irkutsk,  the  eastward-bound  traveler 
enters  a  wooded  part  of  the  Angara  Valley,  and  as  the  road 
winds  along  it  many  points  are  passed  presenting  magnifi- 
cent views.  Afterwards  the  valley  becomes  more  rugged, 
with  deep  ravines  running  up  into  the  mountains.  Beyond 
this  the  road  has  been  cut  along  the  edge  of  a  cliff  at  a  con- 
siderable height  above  the  river,  and  about  five  miles  before 
reaching  the  Baikal  a  scene  is  presented  which  will  cause 
the  traveler  to  pause  and  admire. 


VIEW  IN  IRKUTSK. 

The  valley  becomes  wider,  and  the  mountains  rise  abruptly 
to  a  much  greater  elevation.  The  Angara  is  here  more  than 
a  mile  wide,  and  its  great  volume  of  water  is  seen  rolling 
down  a  steep  incline,  forming  a  rapid  nearly  four  miles  in 
length.  At  the  head  of  this,  in  the  center  of  the  stream,  a 
great  mass  of  rock  rises,  held  sacred  by  the  followers  of 
Shamanism,  and  where  its  victims  used  to  be  sacrificed  by 
tossing  them  into  the  torrent  below.  Beyond  is  the  broad 
'expanse  of  .the  Baikal,  extending  about  50  miles  to  where 
its  waves  wash  the  foot  of  Amar  Daban,  whose  summit, 
even  in  June,  is  usually  covered  with  snow.  The  mighty 
torrent  throwing  up  its  jets  of  spray,  the  rugged  rocks  with 


158  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

their  fringes  of  pendant  birch  overtopped  by  lofty  pines,  and 
the  coloring  on  the  mountains,  produce  a  picture  of  extra- 
ordinary beauty  and  grandeur.  A  few  miles  further,  and 
the  Baikal  is  seen  spreading  out  like  a  sea,  and  its  waves  are 
heard  beating  on  the  rocky  shore. 

In  July,  1879,  the  city  of  Irkutsk  was  devastated  by  a  ter- 
rible fire,  from  the  effects  of  which  it  has  not  yet  recovered. 
Mr.  Henry  Landsell,  an  English  traveler,  arrived  at  a  hotel 
in  Irkutsk  just  as  the  fire  broke  out,  and  has  given  a  graphic 
description  of  what  followed,  in  his  book  "Through  Siberia," 
from  which  the  following  extracts  are  taken : — 

"  The  waiter  said  he  thought  the  fire  would  not  come  to- 
wards the  hotel,  as  the  wind  blew  from  the  opposite  direc- 
tion ;  but  I  was  disinclined  to  wait  and  see,  and  so  we 
bundled  our  things  back  into  the  tarantass,  and  told  the 
yemstchiks,  who  fortunately  had  not  left  the  yard,  to  put  to 
their  horses,  and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  out  in  the  street, 
witnesses  of  a  sight  that  is  not  easy  to  describe.  Men  were 
running  from  all  directions,  not  with  the  idle  curiosity  of  a 
London  crowd  at  a  fire,  but  with  the  blanched  faces  and 
fear-stricken  countenances  of  those  who  knew  that  the  de- 
vastation might  reach  to  them;  they  looked  terribly  in 
earnest — women  screamed  and  children  cried.  The  yemst- 
chiks asked,  4  Where  should  they  go?'  and  my  companion 
suggested  that  we  should  go  out  of  the  town,  across  the 
river.  We  soon  put  nearly  a  mile  between  us  and  the 
flames,'  and  reached  the  bank  of  the  Angara,  where  was  a 
swinging  ferry. 

"  Meanwhile  the  increased  smoke  in  the  distance  showed 
that  the  fire  was  spreading,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  small 
suburb  called  Glasgova,  to  which  I  had  come,  were  looking 
on  in  front  of  their  houses.  Among  the  people  I  noticed  a 
well-dressed  person,  whom  I  addressed,  asking  if  she  spoke 
English  or  French.  She  at  once  inquired  who  I  was,  and 
what  I  wanted.  I  replied  that  I  was  an  English  clergyman 
traveling,  that  I  had  just  arrived  in  Irkutsk,  had  run  away 
from  the  fire,  and  was  seeking  a  lodging.  She  answered 


A    CITY   ON    FIRE.  159 

that  there  were  no  lodgings  to  be  had  in  any  of  the  few 
houses  on  that  side  of  the  river ;  '  but,'  said  she,  <  pray  come 
into  my  little  house,  where  you  are  welcome  to  remain  at 
least  during  the  day.'  I  was  only  too  glad  to  do  so ;  and, 
seeing  that  there  was  a  small  yard  adjoining,  I  asked  per- 
mission to  put  therein  our  two  vehicles,  in  which  we  might 
sleep  until  some  better  place  could  be  found.  We  soon 
found  that  our  hostess  was  of  good  family,  and  an  exile, 
though  not  a  political,  but  a  criminal  one.  On  arriving  at 
Irkutsk,  the  Governor-General  had  shown  her  kindness  in 
allowing  her  to  remain  in  the  city,  where  she  partly  sup- 
ported herself  by  giving  lessons,  and  was  living  for  the  sum- 
mer in  this  quasi  country-house  with  a  young  man  whom  she 
called  her  brother,  her  little  girl  she  had  brought  from  Rus- 
sia, and  a  small  servant  whom  she  spoke  of  as  '  ma  petite 
femme  de  chambre.'  There  was  one  tolerably  spacious 
dwelling-room  in  the  house,  and  in  this  were  sundry  tokens 
of  refinement  brought  from  a  better  home.  On  the  wall 
hung  a  photograph  of  herself,  as  a  bride  leaning  on  the  arm 
of  her  husband  in  officer's  uniform,  whilst  several  other 
photographs  and  ornaments  spoke  also  of  a  better  past. 

"  The  conflagration  was  increasing,  and  I  offered  to  ac- 
company Madame  to  her  friends  residing  in  the  town,  to  see 
if  we  could  be  of  use,  whilst  my  interpreter  stayed  with  the 
tarantasses  and  the  little  girl  to  guard  the  premises.  We 
accordingly  set  out,  accompanied  by  her  maid.  At  the  ferry 
we  met  a  crowd  of  persons  fleeing  from  the  city^  and  carry- 
ing with  them  what  was  most  valuable  or  most  dear.  An 
old  lady  tottering  under  a  heavy  load  of  valuable  furs,  piled 
on  her  head ;  a  poor  half-blind  nun,  hugging  an  ikon,  evi- 
dently the  most  precious  of  her  possessions ;  a  delicate  young 
lady  in  tears,  with  her  kitten  in  her  arms ;  and  boys  tugging 
along  that  first  requisite  of  a  Russian  home,  the  brazen 
samovar.  Terror  was  written  on  every  countenance. 

"  Before  long  we  came  to  the  wide  street  in  which  were 
situated  the  best  shops  and  warehouses,  and  where  the  fire 
was  raging  on  either  side  and  spreading.  Those  who  were 


160  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

wise  were  bringing  out  their  furniture,  their  account-books, 
and  their  treasures  as  fast  as  possible,  and  depositing  them 
in  the  road  and  on  vehicles,  to  be  carried  away.  A  curious 
medley  these  articles  presented.  Here  were  costly  pier- 
glasses,  glass  chandeliers,  and  pictures  such  as  one  would 
hardly  have  expected  to  see  in  Siberia  at  all ;  whilst  a  little 
further  on,  perchance,  were  goods  from  a  grocer's  or  pro- 
vision merchant's  shop,  and  all  sorts  of  delicacies — such  as 
sweets  and  tins  of  preserved  fruit,  to  which  they  who  would 
helped  themselves;  and  working-men  were  seen  tearing  open 
the  tins  to  taste,  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives,  slices  of 
West  India  pine-apples  or  luscious  peaches  and  apricots. 
Other  prominent  articles  of  salvage  were  huge  family  bottles 
of  rye-brandy,  some  of  which  people  hugged  in  their  arms, 
as  if  for  their  life,  whilst  other  bottles  were  standing  about, 
or  being  drunk  by  those  who  carried  them.  The  effects  of 
this  last  proceeding  soon  became  apparent  in  the  grotesque 
and  foolish  antics  of  men  in  the  incipient  stage  of  drunken- 
ness. 

"  In  the  street  were  all  sorts  of  people — soldiers,  officers, 
Cossacks,  civilians,  tradesmen,  gentlemen,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, rich  and  poor,  young  and  old.  Some  were  making 
themselves  useful  to  their  neighbors,  and  a  few  were  looking 
idly  on.  -At  every  door  was  placed  a  jug  of  clean  water  for 
those  to  drink  who  were  thirsty,  and  it  would  have  been 
well  if  nothing  stronger  had  been  taken.  The  fire  brigade 
arrangements  seemed  to  be  in  great  confusion.  There  were 
some  English  engines  in  the  town,  but  the  Siberians  had  not 
practiced  them  in  the  time  of  prosperity,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  the  pipes  had  become  dry  and  useless,  and  would 
not  serve  them  in  the  day  of  adversity.  The  arrangements, 
too,  for  bringing  water  were  of  the  clumsiest  description. 
A  river  was  flowing  on  either  side  of  the  city,  but  the  fire- 
men had  no  means  of  conducting  the  water  by  hose,  but 
carried  it  in  large  barrels  on  wheels.  Moreover,  no  one  took 
command.  Now  and  then  one  saw  a  hand-machine  in  use, 
about  the  size  of  a  garden  engine. 


A    CITY   ON    FIRE. 


161 


"It  soon  became  apparent  that  Madame  could  not  reach 
her  friends,  who  lived  on  the  other  side  of  the  city,  and 
therefore  we  made  our  way  back  towards  the  ferry,  calling 
here  and  there  and  offering  help.  One  friend  asked  us  to 
take  away  her  little  daughter,  which  we  did,  and  her  hus- 
band's revolver,  which  I  carried,  and  a  bottle  of  brandy — 
put  into  the  arms  of  the  femme-de-chambre.  Thus  laden,  we 
walked  towards  the  river,  whilst  on  all  hands  men  and 
women  were  pressing  into  their  service  every  available 
worker  for  the  removal  of  their  goods.  A  religious  proces- 
sion likewise  was  formed  by  priests  and  people  with  banners, 
headed  by  an  ikon,  in  the  hope  that  the  fire  would  be  stayed. 


BURNING  OF  IRKUTSK. 

"  It  was  evening  before  we  reached  our  temporary  lodg- 
ings, and  as  the  day  closed  the  workers  grew  tired,  many 
were  drunk,  and  others  gave  up  in  despair.  The  flames 
continued  to  spread  till  the  darkness  showed  a  line  of  fire 
and  smoke  estimated  at  no  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
length.  It  seemed  as  if  nothing  would  escape.  To  add  to 


162  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

the  vividness  of  the  scene,  an  alarm  of  church  bells  would 
suddenly  clang  out  to  intimate  that  help  was  wanted  in  the 
vicinity.  Perhaps  shortly  afterwards  the  flames  would  be 
seen  playing  up  the  steeple  and  peeping  out  of  the  apertures 
and  windows;  then  reaching  the  top,  and  presenting  the 
strange  spectacle  of  a  tower  on  fire,  with  the  flames  visible 
only  at  the  top,  middle,  and  bottom.  At  last  the  whole 
would  fall  with  a  crash,  and  the  sky  be  lit  up  with  sparks 
and  a  lurid  glare  such  as  cannot  be  forgotten. 

'.'  Meanwhile  the  inhabitants  continued  to  flee  by  thou- 
sands— the  swinging  ferry  near  us  crossed  and  recrossed 
incessantly,  bringing  each  time  its  sorrowful  load,  either 
bearing  away  their  valuables,  or  going  back  to  fetch  others. 
Many  of  the  people  brought  such  of  their  goods  as  they 
could  save  to  the  banks  and  islands  of  the  two  rivers,  and 
there  took  up  their  abode  for  the  night  in  a  condition  com- 
pared with  which  ours  was  comfortable. 

"  We  were  supposed  to  sleep  that  night  in  the  tarantass, 
but  I  rose  continually  to  watch  the  progress  of  the  fire, 
which  towards  morning  abated,  but  only  because  .it  had 
burnt  all  that  came  in  its  way.  About  eleven  o'clock  the 
last  houses  standing  on  the  opposite  bank  caught  fire,  and 
thus,  in  about  four-and-twenty  hours,  three-fourths  of  the 
town  were  consumed." 

Danenhower's  party  arrived  at  Irkutsk,  January  30th,  and 
were  received  in  a  most  courteous  manner,  and  told  to 
consider  themselves  the  guests  of  the  Russian  government. 
During  their  long  stay  they  were  lodged  a  portion  of  the 
time  in  the  house  of  the  private  secretary  of  General  Ped- 
ashenki,  the  vice-governor-general  of  the  province,  which 
was  finely  located  on  the  suburban  side  of  the  Angara,  and 
afforded  a  delightful  view  of  the  pretty  city  on  the  other  side 
of  the  frozen  river.  The  men  had  nearly  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  their  hardship,  excepting  Lieutenant  Danenhower, 
whose  eyes  were  in  such  a  precarious  condition  that  his 
physician  forbade  his  traveling  in  winter,  Mr.  Newcomb, 


MR.  JACKSON'S  TRAVELS.  163 

who  was  badly  run  down,  and  Jack  Cole,  the  boatswain  of 
the  Jeannette,  whose  mind  became  unbalanced  during  the 
retreat  to  the  coast. 

Just  about  the  time  when  Danenhower's  party  left  Ya- 
kutsk to  travel  westward,  another  traveler,  Mr.  Jackson, 
special  courier  and  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald, 
started  from  Paris  for  Eastern  Siberia,  to  meet  the  survivors 
of  the  Jeannette  expedition,  and  thence  to  proceed  to  Yakutsk 
or  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lena,  if  advisable,  to  assist  in  the 
search  for  the  missing  men. 

Mr.  Jackson  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg  on  the  evening  of 
January  12th,  which  was  the  new  year's  eve  of  the  Russians. 
At  this  city  he  received  every  attention  and  much  assistance 
from  General  Ignatieff,  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  from 
General  Anutschin,  Governor-General  of  Eastern  Siberia, 
who  was  passing  the  winter  in  St.  Petersburg.  He  was  fur- 
nished with  a  crown  pordorhosna,  a  document  carried  by 
all  high  officials  traveling  on  Russian  post-routes,  and  it 
gave  him  the  right  to  demand  horses  at  the  stations  in 
preference  to  the  ordinary  traveler.  The  following  is  a 
translation  thereof : — 

BY  COMMAND  OF  HlS   IMPERIAL  MAJESTY  THE  EMPEROR 

ALEXANDER  ALEXANDROVICH, 

Supreme  Ruler  of  all  the  Rusaias, 
&c.,.  <fcc.,  &c. 

From  St.  Petersburg  to  Irkutsk  and  return.  *  *  * 
The  Special  Correspondent  of  the  NEW  YORK  HERALD  shall 
be  given  horses  up  to  the  number  of  five  without  delay,  to  be 
paid  for  according  to  the  fixed  tariff. 

Given  at  St.  Petersburg  January  4th  (Russian  style),  1882. 

For  the  Chief  of  the  Chancellery  of  the  Government  of 
Irkutsk,  [Seal.] 

[Seal.]  GOREW. 

Mr.  Jackson  also  received  from  the  Governor-General  an 
open  letter,  which  read  as  follows  : — 

"  The  bearer  of  this,  Mr.  J.  P.  Jackson,  leaves  St.  Petersburg 


164  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

for  Eastern  Siberia,  his  mission  being  to  render  assistance 
to  the  crew  of  the  Polar  exploration  vessel,  the  steamer 
Jeannette,  who  have  been  wrecked  in  the  Polar  Sea.  All 
local  authorities  of  Eastern  Siberia  are  therefore  commanded 
to  render  all  the  assistance  in  their  power,  so  far  as  the  law 
permits,  to  Mr.  Jackson,  especially  to  facilitate  him  to  a 
quick  and  undelayed  journey  to  his  destination  and  back, 
and  to  fulfill  all  his  wishes,  so  far  as  they  are  lawful  and  may 
be  assisted  by  the  local  authorities  of  the  districts  through 
which  he  passes. 

ST.  PETERSBURG,  January  4th,  1882. 

The  Governor-General  of  Eastern  Siberia,  member  of  the 
General  staff,  General  Lieutenant, 

ANUTSCHIN. 

Countersigned,  A.  URSAFF,  Member  of  the  Imperial  Coun- 
cil and  Chief  of  the  Chancellery  of  Travel.  " 

Equipped  with  these  documents,  and  accompanied  by 
M.  A.  Larsen,  of  the  London  News,  Mr.  Jackson  left  St. 
Petersburg,  January  19th,  for  Moscow.  Thence  he  contin- 
ued his  journey  by  railroad  to  Orenburg.  From  this  place 
the  journey  to  Irkutsk  was  made  in  a  sledge  owned  by  the 
Governor-General,  which  had  been  placed  at  his  service.  It 
was  well  provided  with  furs,  and  drawn  by  four  or  five 
horses,  which  were  changed  at  every  post-station.  More 
than  800  different  horses  were  used  on  the  journey,  which 
extended  over  2,500  miles. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  letter  which  Mr.  Jack- 
son wrote  to  the  New  York  Herald  from  Irkutsk,  February 
25th,  1882 :  — 

"  The  long  and  weary  journey  across  the  Siberian  wilds 
and  wastes  was  finished  at  seven  o'clock  of  the  evening  of  the 
23d  of  February  (0.  S.),  and  an  hour  later  I  was  with  Lieuten- 
ant Danenhower  and  the  survivors  of  the  Jeannette  who  were 
landed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  in  boat  No.  3.  I  hardly 
need  say  that  these  men  were  greatly  pleased  to  receive 
letters  and  papers  from  home,  and  I  will  venture  to  assert 


A   BEWILDERED    MARINER.  165 

that  few  of  them  could  sleep  that  night  until  the  early  hours, 
for  pleasure  and  excitement.  Lieutenant  Danenhower  I 
found  with  his  eyes  bandaged  and  strictly  forbidden  by  his 
doctor  to  use  his  sight,  so  I  spent  an  hour  and  a  half  reading 
to  him  the  messages  of  love  sent  to  him  by  friends  and 
relatives  from  the  Western  land. 

The  party  have  received  a  kindly  welcome  from  the  peo- 
ple of  Irkutsk,  and  have  been  frequently  invited  to  accept 
pleasant  courtesies  and  hospitalities.  Poor  Jack  Cole  is 
carefully  attended  to  by  his  comrades  in  turns,  and  a  Cos- 
sack soldier  watches  by  him  night  and  day.  When  I  met 
him  he  immediately  embraced  me,  as  he  does  all  his  friends, 
and  said  he  was  glad  I  had  come,  for  he  was  just  about  to 
start  out  for  the  Herald  office.  Poor  fellow!  He  lost  his 
reason  during  the  retreat  from  the  crushed  exploring  vessel, 
and  his  mind  is  wandering  far  off.  At  first,  after  landing, 
he  was  inclined  to  be  quarrelsome ;  then  he  began  to  invent 
mysterious  machines,  the  last  of  which  was  a  winking  piano 
filled  with  boys  and  girls  ;  but  after  my  arrival  he  became 
possessed  of  the  idea  that  he  was  in  New  York,  and  when  he 
goes  out  (under  safe  conduct),  he  says  he  is  going  to  the 
Herald  office ;  and  when  he  comes  back  from  his  daily  ride 
he  informs  the  lieutenant  that  he  was  not  able  to  get  his 
bearings  straight.  So  Lieutenant  Danenhower  bids  him  be 
of  good  cheer,  and  tells  him  that  he  has  the  chart  of  the 
route  in  his  pocket,  and  will  bring  him  safely  to  port  in 
good  time. 

In  a  darkened  room  of  the  house  of  M.  Strekofski,  I  have 
spent  the  day  in  taking  down  a  portion  of  Lieutenant 
Danenhower' s  narrative  of  the  voyage  of  the  ill-fated  Jean- 
nette.  The  lieutenant  was  not  an  eye-witness  of  all  the 
events  about  which  he  speaks.  Struck,  about  a  year  after 
the  vessel  left  San  Francisco,  with  an  affection  of  the  left 
eye,  by  which  the  right  one  was  sympathetically  affected,  he 
was  confined  to  his  darkened  berth  for  a  period  of  six 
months,  during  which  time  he  underwent  thirteen  operations, 
and  for  a  year,  until  the  time  of  the  disaster,  indeed,  he  was 


166  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

declared  by  the  doctor  as  incapacitated  for  duty,  and  was 
thereby  deprived  of  any  active  share  in  the  labors  in  the 
Arctic.  But  while  confined  to  his  berth  his  companions 
relieved  the  tedium  of  his  existence  by  telling  him  all  that 
was  going  on  in  the  little  world  above  and  around  him,  and 
when  he  was  able  to  go  on  deck  and  on  the  ice  he  was  an 
accurate  observer  of  all  that  went  on  around  him,  and  his 
marvellous  memory  enables  him  without  notes  to  tell  with 
exactitude  every  date,  name,  or  event  memorable  in  the 
history  of  the  voyage. 

Though  deprived  of  his  legitimate  command,  which  was 
entrusted  by  Captain  DeLong,  before  leaving  the  vessel,  to 
Engineer  Melville,  he  was  permitted  temporarily  to  assume 
the  command  of  the  boat  during  the  severe  gale  that  sepa- 
rated the  three  boats  when  so  near  to  the  land  of  the  Lena's 
mouth,  and  all  the  men  saved  with  him  join  in  the  assurance 
to  me  that  without  him  they  must  inevitably  have  perished. 
His  work,  with  his  defective  sight,  during  that  memorable 
retreat,  was  grandly  and  nobly  done. 

The  narrative  of  the  retreat,  through  which  he  carried 
his  boat  safely  to  land,  will  be,  I  am  sure,  of  surpassing 
interest." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE. 

THE  Jeannette  left  San  Francisco  on  the  8th  of  July, 
1879,  with  a  full  outfit  for  three  years,  with  five  com- 
missioned officers  of  the  navy,  two  civil  scientists,  and  twen- 
ty-four of  the  ship's  company.  We  arrived  at  Ounalaska  on 
the  3d  of  August,  after  a  long  passage  caused  by  head  winds 
and  the  vessel  being  laden  below  her  proper  bearings.  The 
Jeannette  was  perfectly  seaworthy,  having  been  thoroughly 
put  in  order  at  Mare  Island  before  starting.  After  coaling 
ship  at  Ounalaska  we  proceeded  to  St.  Michael's,  Alaska,  to 
meet  our  supply  schooner,  the  Fanny  A.  Hyde.  There  we 
filled  up  with  stores,  got  fur  clothing,  purchased  forty  dogs 
and  engaged  two  American  Indians — Anequin  and  Alexai — 
as  hunters  and  dog-drivers,  thus  completing  our  complement 
of  thirty-three.  On  the  25th  of  August  we  crossed  Bering's 
Sea,  in  a  very  heavy  gale,  and  though  the  ship  was  loaded 
very  deeply  she  behaved  admirably. 

We  visited  St.  Lawrence  Bay  in  order  to  take  in  coal  and 
the  remaining  supplies  from  the  schooner,  as  well  as  to  con- 
verse with  the  native  Chukches  and  to  get  news  of  Nordens- 
kiold.  We  met  about  twenty  natives,  one  of  whom  had 
learned  a  little  English  from  American  traders,  and  he  told 
us  that  a  steamer  had  passed  south  the  previous  June.  The 
natives  were  ragged  and  dirty,  and  had  no  food  to  dispose  of. 
We  shot  some  wild  fowl,  and  then  we  saw  remains  of  vessels 
burned  by  the  Shenandoah.  Up  the  St.  Lawrence  Bay  we 
found  magnificent  scenery.  We  sent  off  our  last  mail  by  the 
supply  schooner,  and  on  the  27th  of  August,  seven  P.  M.,  we 
started  north.  Next  day  we  passed  through  Bering's  Strait. 
11  (169) 


170  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

We  rounded  East  Cape  about  three  of  the  afternoon  of  the 
28th ;  it  was  then  cloudy,  no  observations,  running  by  dead 
reckoning.  The  East  Cape  loomed  very  bold  and  bluff.  We 
could  not  see  the  Diomedes  in  the  straits. 

On  the  29th  I  saw,  from  the  crow's-nest,  huts  on  the  beach. 
We  stood  in  and  found  a  summer  settlement.  Captain  De- 
Long  and  a  party  of  officers  started  ashore  in  the  whale-boat, 
but  could  not  land  owing  to  the  surf  breaking  on  iceward. 
Seeing  the  difficulty,  the  natives  launched  a  bidarah,  or  large 
skin  boat,  very  skilfully,  and  came  off  to  the  ship,  bringing 
their  chief  with  them.  We  had  a  long  interview  with  them 
in  the  cabin,  but  as  neither  party  could  understand  the  other 
the  results  of  the  conversation  were  not  great.  They  made 
us  understand,  however,  by  bending  the  elbow  and  saying 
"  Schnapps  "  what  they  wanted,  but  the  captain  refused  to 
listen  to  their  request.  Lieutenant  Chipp  then  went  ashore 
and  succeeded  in  landing  about  midnight,  and  from  an  old 
woman  from  King's  Island  who  could  talk  with  our  Indians, 
we  learned  that  Nordenskiold  with  the  Vega  had  wintered  to 
the  north  of  them,  and  had  passed  east  to  Bering's  Strait  in 
the  month  of  June.  The  next  day  we  cruised  along  the 
coast  to  the  westward.  Met  two  other  parties  of  natives, 
who  came  alongside,  but  took  a  look  at  us  only. 

On  Sunday,  August  31st,  we  fell  in  with  some  drift  ice,  and 
at  daylight  discovered  a  few  huts  on  the  beach.  The  drift 
ice  extended  about  four  miles  off  shore.  Lieutenant  Chipp, 
Ice-Pilot  Dunbar  and  I,  went  ashore  in  the  whale-boat  to  inter- 
view the  natives.  After  a  two  hours'  pull  through  the  drift- 
pack,  and  seeing  many  seals,  we  reached  the  beach  and  found 
several  carcasses  of  recently  slain  walrus.  The  natives 
seemed  rather  shy,  and  we  had  to  look  them  up  in  their  skin 
tents.  There  we  found  a  sailor's  trypot,  and  a  cask  marked 
"  Centennial  brand  of  whiskey," — conclusive  proof  that  the 
people  were  in  occasional  communication  with  American 
traders. 

We  met  an  intelligent  young  Chukche,  who  offered  to 
show  us  the  spot  where  the  Vega  had  wintered.  We  took  a 


THE  VEGA'S  WINTER  QUARTERS.  173 

tramp  of  several  hours  to  the  westward,  and  saw  a  bay  about 
fifteen  miles  wide  between  the  headlands,  and  there  the 
natives  told  us  the  Vega  had  passed  the  winter.  We  found 
nothing  there  of  any  consequence.  In  the  tents,  however, 
we  found  tin  cans  marked  "  Stockholm,"  scraps  of  paper  with 
soundings  marked  in  Swedish,  and  some  interesting  pictures 
of  Stockholm  professional  beauties.  The  natives  indicated 
to  us  by  signs  that  the  steamer  had  passed  safely  out  to  the 
east.  After  purchasing  some  of  the  pictures  and  tin  cans  we 
returned  to  the  ship. 

During  my  absence  the  captain  had  got  the  sun  at  noon, 
and  the  latitude  placed  us  about  fifteen  miles  inland.  Our 
astronomical  positions  were  not  reliable,  owing  to  the  state 
of  the  weather,  but  from  them  and  the  dead  reckoning  we 
felt  assured  that  the  coast  is  not  correctly  charted.  The 
general  appearance  of  the  coast  was  fresh  and  pleasing.  Off 
what  we  supposed  to  be  Cape  Serdze  Kamen  we  saw  a  large 
heart-shaped  rock,  of  which  Mr.  Collins  made  an  elaborate 
sketch.  There  were  several  sugar-loaf  mountains  in  sight. 

Our  walk  to  the  Yega's  winter  quarters  was  over  a  mossy 
tundra ;  no  signs  of  deer ;  the  vegetation  withered.  The 
natives  were  hospitable,  and  one  old  Clmkche  dame  pressed 
us  to  eat  a  dish  of  walrus  blood,  but  we  felt  compelled  to 
refuse  the  offer.  The  natives  were  stalwart  and  handsome ; 
they  lived  in  skin  tents  and  were  exceedingly  dirty.  They 
were  well  clad,  and  the  chief  wore  a  red  calico  gown  as  the 
distinguishing  mark  of  his  dignity.  This  was  the  last  time 
most  of  us  touched  land  for  a  period  of  more  than  two  years. 

About  4  P.  M.,  August  31st,  we  stood  to  the  northwest, 
shaping  our  course  to  the  southeast  cape  of  Wrangel  Land, 
and  then  we  felt  that  our  Arctic  cruise  had  actually  com- 
menced. We  met  considerable  drift  ice ;  the  weather  was 
stormy  and  misty.  About  sunrise,  September  1st,  we  dis- 
cerned an  island  which  was  taken  to  be  Kolyutschin,  in  Ko- 
lyutschin  Bay.  Next  day  we  met  pack  ice  in  floes  of  moderate 
size,  turned  to  the  northward  and  northeastward,  and  cruised 


174  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

along  the  Siberian  pack,  entering  leads  at  times  to  examine 
them. 

On  the  afternoon  of  September  4th  a  whaling  bark  bore 
down  to  us  ;  we  stopped  engines  and  awaited  her  approach, 
but  the  weather  became  misty  and  she  did  not  speak  us.  We 
had  an  Arctic  mail  on  board  at  the  time,  and  were  disap- 
pointed at  not  being  able  to  send  letters  home.  We  ran  in 
several  times  and  made  fast  to  floe-pieces,  to  await  clear 
weather.  That  afternoon,  about  4,  we  saw  an  immense 
tree,  with  its  roots,  drifting  by.  Ice-pilot  Dunbar,  seeing  it, 
said  that  in  1865,  when  the  Shenandoah  destroyed  the 
whalers,  he  was  at  St.  Lawrenc.e  Bay  ;  and  when,  a  few 
months  later,  he  landed  on  Herald  Island,  he  was  greatly 
surprised  to  see  masts  and  portions  of  the  destroyed  vessels 
drifting  in  that  vicinity.  This  made  me  look  out  for  a  north- 
west drift.  Then  Herald  Island  loomed  up  in  the  clouds. 


WHALERS  STOPPED  BY  THE  ICE. 

On  the  6th  of  September  the  captain  judged  that  we  had 
reached  the  lead  between  the  Siberian  and  North  American 
packs,  and  that  this  was  a  good  place  to  enter.  He  took 
charge  from  the  crow's-nest,  and  we  entered  the  pack.  We 
met  with  the  young  ice,  and  forced  our  way  through  it  by 
ramming.  This  shook  the  ship  very  badly,  but  did  not  do 
her  any  damage ;  indeed,  the  ship  stood  the  concussions  hand- 


NEAR   HERALD    ISLAND.  175 

somely.  But  at  4  P.  M.  we  could  proceed  no  further.  We 
banked  fires,  secured  the  vessel  with  ice-anchors,  and 
remained.  That  night  was  exceedingly  cold.  The  ship  was 
frozen  in.  At  this  time  the  ice  was  in  pieces  ranging  from 
ten  square  yards  to  several  acres  in  area,  with  small  water- 
courses like  veins  running  between  them,  but  now  quite  frozen 
over.  It  remained  quiet  for  a  number  of  days,  and  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  middle  of  a  large  accumulation  of  floes  about 
four  miles  across.  We  were  then  in  about  twenty  fathoms 
of  water,  and  had  Herald  Island  in  sight  to  the  southward 
and  westward,  twenty -one  miles  distant  by  triangulation  on 
a  base  line  of  1,100  yards. 

About  the  15th  of  September,  First  Lieutenant  Chipp,  Ice- 
Pilot  Dunbar,  Engineer  Melville,  and  the  Indian,  Alexai, 
started  with  a  dog-sledge  for  Herald  Island.  They  got 
within  six  miles  of  the  beach,  when  they  found  open  water 
before  them,  and  were  compelled  to  return.  We  found  the 
ship  drifting  with  the  ice,  and  with  so  uncertain  a  base  the 
captain  would  not  send  other  persons  to  the  island  with 
boats.  The  general  appearance  of  the  ice  at  this  time  was 
uniform,  with  here  and  there  almost  snowless  hummocks 
appearing  above  the  surface,  between  which  were  pools 
whereon  the  men  could  skate.  The  deflorescence  of  salt  was 
like  velvet  under  the  feet.  From  day  to  day  we  saw  a  loom- 
ing of  land  to  the  southwest,  and  sometimes  in  the  clouds. 
We  soon  found  that  the  ice  always  took  up  the  drift  with 
the  wind. 

The  ship  at  this  time  began  to  heel  to  starboard  under  the 
pressure,  and  inclined  about  twelve  degrees.  We  unshipped 
the  rudder,  got  up  mast-head  tackles  on  the  port  side,  with 
lower  blocks  hooked  to  heavy  ice-anchors  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  distant,  and  set  them  taut  in  order  to  keep  the 
ship  upright.  The  propeller  was  not  triced  up,  but  was 
turned  so  that  the  blades  would  be  up  and  down  the  stern- 
post.;  the  engines  were  tallowed,  but  not  taken  apart.  When 
the  ship  commenced  to  heel,  the  local  deviation  of  the  com- 
pass increased  in  the  ratio  of  one  and  a  half  degrees  duration 


176 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


to  one  degree  of  list.  This  was  owing  to  the  vast  amount 
of  iron-work,  and  especially  the  canned  goods,  which  had  to 
be  stowed  in  the  after-hold  and  on  the  quarter-deck.  All  our 
compass  observations  had  of  course  to  be  made  on  the  ice 


SKATING  ON  THE  YOUNG  ICE. 

well  clear  of  the  ship.  At  this  time  and  later  on  we  noticed 
that  the  turning  motion  of  the  floe  or  change  in  azimuth  of 
the  ship's  head  was  very  slow;  but  the  floe  did  have  a 
cycloidal  motion  with  the  wind,  and  the  resultant  was  in  the 
northwest  direction. 

Our  position  was  not  an  enviable  one.  At  any  moment 
the  vessel  was  liable  to  be  crushed  like  an  egg-shell  among 
this  enormous  mass  of  ice,  the  general  thickness  of  which 
was  from  five  to  six  feet,  though  some  was  over  twenty 
where  the  floe-pieces  had  overrun  and  cemented  together 
and  turned  topsy-turvy.  Pressures  were  constantly  felt. 
We  heard  distant  thundering  of  the  heavy  masses,  which 
threw  up  high  ridges  of  young  ice  that  looked  like  immense 
pieces  of  crushed  sugar. 


DRIFTING.  17T 

The  month  of  October  was  quiet.  We  had  had  no  equi- 
noctial gales  even  in  September.  The  cold  was  very  bitter. 
Wrangel  Land  was  in  plain  sight  to  south  and  west  many 
times,  and  especially  on  the  28th  and  29th  of  October,  when 
we  could  see  mountains  and  glaciers,  which  we  identified  on 
many  occasions.  Collins  took  sketches  of  them.  The  ship 
was  drifting  to  and  fro  with  the  wind.  Up  to  this  time  we 
saw  a  considerable  number  of  seals  and  walrus,  and  got  two 
bears.  Two  white  whales  were  also  seen,  which  were  the 
only  ones  noticed  during  the  whole  cruise.-  Life  on  board 
was  quiet  but  monotonous.  We  got  many  observations,  es- 
pecially from  the  stars.  The  nights  were  very  clear,  and 
suitable  for  artificial  horizon  work. 

We  began  to  find  at  this  time,  and  by  later  experience  be- 
came convinced,  that  Rear-Admiral  John  Rodgers  was  right 
when  he  said  that  the  sextant,  artificial  horizon,  and  the  lead 
were  the  most  efficient  and  useful  instruments  in  exploring 
Arctic  waters,  and  that  transits  and  zenith  telescopes  were  not 
useful,  because  refined  observations  could  not  be  obtained, 
and  were  not  necessary  in  this  region.  The  cold  is  so  great 
as  to  affect  the  instrument,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
keep  the  lens  free  of  frost  and  vapor,  thus'  making,  the  re- 
fraction a  very  indefinite  correction.  Our  experience  in  this 
pack  was,  that  the  state  of  the  atmosphere  was  constantly 
changing;  without  a  moment's  notice  the  ice  would  sometimes 
open  near  the  ship,  and  vast  columns  of  vapor  would  rise 
whenever  the  difference  of  temperature  between  the  air  and 
water  was  great.  The  surface  water  was  generally  29°  Fah- 
renheit, the  freezing  point  of  salt  water. 

About  the  6th  of  November  the  ice  began  to  break  up. 
We  had  previously  observed  considerable  agitation  about  the 
full  and  change  of  the  moon,  and  attributed  it  to  tidal  action. 
This  was  observed  particularly  when  we  were  between  Her- 
ald Island  and  Wrangel  Land,  and  when  the  water  was 
shoaled — that  is,  about  fifteen  fathoms  —  the  ice  began  to 
break  round  the  ship,  and  a  regular  stream  of  broken 
masses  gradually  encroached  upon  us.  From  aloft,  the  floe 


178 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


that  had  appeared  so  uniform  a  few  weeks  before  was  now 
tumbled  about,  and  in  a  state  of  greater  confusion  than  an 
old  Turkish  graveyard.  Tracks  began  to  radiate  from  the 
ship,  and  the  noise  and  vibration  of  distant  ramming  were 
terrific,  making  even  the  dogs  whine. 


THE  ICE  IN  MOTION. 

November  3d  was  a  calm,  starlight  night.  I  got  good  star 
observations,  with  Melville  marking  time,  at  eleven  P.  M.  I 
was  working  them  up,  when  a  crack  was  heard,  and  we  found 
that  the  floe  had  split,  and  that  the  ice  on  the  port  side  had 
drifted  off,  leaving  the  ship  lying  in  a  half  cradle  on  her 
starboard  bilge.  The  water  looked  smooth  and  beautiful, 
and  there  was  no  noise  save  that  of  four  dogs  which  had 
drifted  off  with  the  port  ice.  We  had  previously  taken  in 
the  observatory,  and  had  prepared  for  such  an  accident,  but 
on  the  starboard  side  the  steam-cutter  and  the  men's  out- 
house had  been  left.  We  got  the  steam-cutter  aboard,  but 
left  the  outhouse  standing. 

And  here  let  me  mention  an  interesting  fact.  About  six- 
teen months  afterward,  the  Indian  Anequin  came  in,  in  a 


ANEQUIN'S  DISCOVERY.  179 

state  of  great  excitement  for  an  Indian  generally  so  stolid, 
and  reported,  "  Me  found  two  man  house  !  "  He  described 
it  as  a  house  large  enough  for  two  men,  and  when  asked  if 
he  had  been  inside  said,  "  No,  me  plenty  'fraid !  "  Judge  of 
our  surprise.  Lieutenant  Chipp  immediately  started  with 
the  Indian  and  others,  and  found  the  house  at  a  distance  of 
about  three  miles  to  the  southeast.  It  proved  to  be  the  lost 
out-house,  thus  showing  that  the  relative  positions  of  the 
pieces  in  the  vicinity  were  comparatively  unchanged. 

The  next  morning  the  half  cradle  on  which  the  port  side 
had  rested  could  be  seen  about  a  thousand  yards  distant,  and 
this  immense  lead  was  open,  but  of  very  limited  length.  The 
appearance  of  the  ice  can  be  likened  to  an  immense  cake  as 
it  comes  from  the  oven,  broken  and  cracked  on  the  surface. 

A  few  mornings  later  the  drift  ice  came  down  upon  us  un- 
der the  starboard  bow,  and  wedged  the  ship  off  her  cradle, 
and  she  went  adrift  in  the  gale.  This  was  about  eight  A.M. 
She  drifted  all  day  until  seven  P.M.,  when  she  brought  up  on 
some  young  ice,  and  was  frozen  in  solid  again.  It  was  dark, 
in  the  long  night,  and  there  was  no  chance  of  working  the 
pack  had  it  been  good  judgment  to  do  so.  We  reckoned' 
that  she  had  drifted  at  least  forty  miles,  with  the  ice  in  her 
immediate  vicinity. 

Previous  to  this  time  the  ship  had  stood  the  pressure  in  the 
most  remarkable  manner.  On  one  occasion  I  stood  on  the 
deck-house  above  a  sharp  tongue  of  ice  that  pressed  the  port 
side  just  abaft  the  fore  chains  and  in  the  wake  of  the  im- 
mense truss  that  had  been  strengthened  by  the  urgent  advice 
of  Engineer-in-chief  William  H.  Shock,  on  Mare  Island. 
The  fate  of  the  Jeannette  was  then  delicately  balanced,  and 
when  I  saw  the  immense  tongue  break  and  harmlessly  un- 
derrun  the  ship,  I  gave  heartfelt  thanks  to  Shock's  good 
judgment.  She  would  groan  from  stem  to  stern  ;  the  cabin 
doors  were  often  jammed  so  that  we  could  not  get  out  in  case 
of  emergency,  and  the  heavy  truss  was  imbedded  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  into  the  ceiling.  %The  safety  of  the  ship 
at  that  time  was  due  entirely  to  the  truss.  The  deck  plank- 


180  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

ing  would  start  from  the  beams,  showing  the  unpainted  wood 
for  more  than  half  an  inch.  This,  together  with  the  sharp 
cracking  of  the  ship's  fastenings,  like  the  report  of  a  distant 
charge  of  rifles,  would  wake  us  at  night.  Each  man  kept 
his  knapsack  by  him  ready  for  an  instant  move,  and  prepa- 
rations were  made  for  leaving  the  ship  with  sleds  and  boats 
if  necessary. 

Several  gales,  the  heaviest  being  about  fifty  miles  an  hour, 
occurred  in  the  fall  of  1879.  The  long  night  commenced 
about  the  10th  of  November,  and  lasted  till  the  25th  of  Jan- 
uary, 1880.  On  November  1st  the  winter  routine  com- 
menced. At  seven,  call  all  hands  and  start  fires  in  the 
galleys  ;  at  nine,  breakfast ;  from  eleven  to  one,  guns  given 
to  all  hands  to  hunt  and  for  exercise  on  the  ice ;  at  three 
p.  M.,  dinner ;  then  galley  fires  put  out  to  save  coal ;  between 
seven  and  eight,  tea,  made  from  the  Baxter  boiler,  which 
was  used  constantly  to  condense  water,  we  having  found  that 
the  floe  ice  was  too  salt  for  use,  and  the  doctor  insisted  on 
using  condensed  water.  This  boiler  was  originally  intended 
for  the  electric  light,  but  it  was  found  that  we  could  not  af- 
ford to  run  the  light,  so  we  used  the  coal  in  condensing 
water.  Twenty-five  pounds  of  coal  per  day  was  allowed  for 
heating  the  cabin,  twenty-five  pounds  for  the  forecastle,  and 
ninety  pounds  for  ship's  galley  for  cooking  purposes. 

We  lived  on  canned  goods,  with  bear  and  seal  twice  a 
week,  pork-and-beans  and  salt  beef  once  a  week ;  no  rum  or 
spirits,  except  on  festive  occasions,  two  or  three  times  a  year. 
The  discipline  of  the  ship  was  excellent,  and  during  the  whole 
twenty-one  months  in  the  pack  there  was  but  one  punishment 
given,  and  that  was  for  profanity.  The  crew  were  well 
quartered  in  berths,  and  were  comparatively  happy;  had 
navigation  class  and  theatricals.  The  health  of  all  was 
excellent,  and  there  was  a  special  medical  examination  the 
first  of  every  month. 

Things  went  on  in  this  fashion  until  the  middle  of  Janua- 
ry, when  there  were  tremendous  pressures,  and  the  floes  ac- 
tually backed  up  into  mounds  under  the  strain,  the  ice 


TREMENDOUS   PRESSURES.  181 

being  very  tough  and  elastic.  The  heaviest  strain  came  in 
the  stem  of  the  ship,  in  a  longitudinal  direction.  There  was 
also  a  heavy  lateral  strain,  especially  under  the  starboard 
main  chains.  About  nine  o'clock  one  morning  a  man  went 
down  into  the  fire-room  on  duty  and  found  the  floor-plates 
covered  with  water ;  he  immediately  reported  the  fact,  and 
all  pumps  were  started.  The  temperature  was  below  42 
degrees  Fahrenheit  (the  freezing  point  of  mercury).  Mr. 
Melville  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  up  steam  and  starting 
the  donkey  pumps,  but  succeeded  admirably,  the  men  work- 
ing with  their  feet  and  legs  In  ice-water,  and  everything 
frozen  and  freezing  solid.  It  was  found  that  the  vessl  leaked 
badly  in  the  bows,  and  we  supposed  that  the  hooding  of  the 
planks  had  been  started  at  the  stem,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
last  day,  June  12th,  1881,  that  we  discovered  that  the  forefoot 
had  been  twisted  to  starboard. 

The  carpenter  (Sweetman),  with  Nindermann,  worked  day 
and  night,  and  (under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant  Chipp) 
built  a  bulkhead  forward  of  the  foremast,  which  partially 
confined  the  water.  Melville  rigged  an  economical  pump 
with  the  Baxter  boiler,  and  the  ship  was  pumped  for  nearly 
eighteen  months.  A  windmill  pump  was  also  made  for  sum- 
mer, but  the  winds  were  so  light  that  it  hardly  paid.  During 
the  last  few  months  the  leak  decreased,  owing  to  the  ship 
floating  higher,  and  we  had  then  only  to  pump  once  every 
half  hour  by  hand.  The  experience  of  January  19th  gave 
me  great  confidence  in  the  ship's  company,  as  it  was  a  very 
severe  test  on  the  men.  I  was  confined  to  my  berth  at  the 
time,  but  knew  everything  that  was  going  on,  and  the  solid 
and  effective  work  done  was  very  gratifying. 

As  well  as  I  can  remember,  about  fifteen  barrels  of  flour 
and  some  other  dry  provisions  were  damaged  by  this  acci- 
dent. Previous  to  this  we  had  to  throw  away  a  large  quantity 
of  canned  roast-beef  marked  "  Erie  brand,"  it  having  proved 
bad.  The  coldest  weather  occurred  in  February,  1880,  being 
— 58  degrees.  There  were  also  some  great  and  remarkable 
changes  of  temperature  in  the  course  of  the  day. 


182  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

About  the  middle  of  February  we  were  found  to  be  about 
fifty  miles  from  the  place  where  we  had  entered,  and  Herald 
Island  was  said  to  have  been  in  sight  during  one  day.  Dur- 
ing these  five  months  we  had  drifted  over  an  immense  area, 
approaching  and  receding  from  the  180th  meridian,  but  I  do 
not  think  we  crossed  it  at  that  time.  We  continued  to  drift 
in  this  uncertain  manner.  We  noticed  that  the  ship  always 
took  up  a  rapid  drift  with  southeast  winds,  and  a  slow  drift 
with  riortheast  winds,  owing,  doubtless,  to  Wrangel  Island 
being  under  our  lee.  Southwest  winds  were  not  frequent. 

At  times  land  was  reported  to  the  northeast,  but  nothing 
trustworthy.  Some  observers  were  constantly  seeing  land  at 
all  points  of  the  compass,  and  many  was  the  trip  that  the 
navigator  and  the  ice-pilot  had  to  make  to  the  crow's-nest  in 
vain.  We  were  very  much  disappointed  at  not  being  able  to 
shift  for  ourselves,  and  up  to  this  time  we  had  only  demon- 
strated to  our  satisfaction  that  Dr.  Peterman's  theory  in  re- 
gard to  Wrangel  Land  being  a  portion  of  Greenland  was  no 
longer  tenable,  for  its  insularity  was  evident,  as  subsequently 
proved. 

March  and  April,  1880,  were  passed  quietly,  and  we  were 
surprised  at  not  having  any  March  gales.  The  geese  and 
wild  fowl  that  some  of  us  expected  to  see  on  their  spring 
migration,  did  not  put  in  an  appearance.  One  poor  eider 
duck  fell  exhausted  near  the  ship,  and  one  of  our  sportsmen 
shot  at  it,  and  after  administering  chloroform  it  succumbed. 
There  were  some  birds  seen  later  in  the  season,  moving  to 
the  westward,  but  they  were  not  numerous.  A  great  many 
mussel-shells  and  quantities  of  mud  were  often  found  on  the 
ice,  which  indicated  that  it  had  been  in  contact  with  land 
or  shoals.  Our  hunters  ranged  far  and  wide,  and  often 
brought  in  small  pieces  of  wood — on  one  occasion  a  codfish 
head,  and  on  another  some  stuff  that  was  very  much  like 
whale-blubber,  all  of  which  had  been  found  on  the  ice. 

On  May  3d,  fresh  southeast  winds  began,  and  the  ship 
took  up  a  rapid  and  uniform  drift  to  the  northwest.  Now 
Mr.  Collins  began  to  predict,  and  told  me  several  times,  that 


MR.    COLLINSES   PREDICTIONS.  183 

these  winds  would  continue  till  the  early  part  or  the  middle 
of  June,  and  would  be  followed  by  constant  northwest  winds 
for  the  balance  of  June.  This  prediction  was  fully  realized, 
and  in  the  month  of  June  we  actually  drifted  back  over  the 
May  track.  During  July  and  August  there  was  scarcely 
any  wind,  and  the  weather  was  misty  and  raw,  it  being  the 
most  unpleasant  time  of  the  year,  the  coldest  weather  not 
excepted.  The  damp  and  fog  and  cold  struck  chill  to  the 
bones,  and  we  could  not  afford  to  heat  the  ship  as  we  did  in 
winter.  The  ice  seemed  to  absorb  all  the  heat  from  the  sun 
during  the  melting  period  of  the  year. 

The  snow  disappeared  from  the  surface  of  the  floe  about 
the  middle  of  June,  and  the  best  traveling  period  over  the 
floe  was  considered  to  be  between  the  middle  of  June  and 
the  middle  of  July.  But  this  was  a  subject  for  constant 
discussion  among  the  savans,  among  whom  Mr.  Dunbar  was 
the  most  experienced,  he  having  been  an  old  traveler  in  the 
Baffin's  Bay  region.  A  considerable  number  of  birds,  prin- 
cipally phalaropes  and  guillemots,  were  shot  and  very  much 
appreciated  at  dinner. 

The  surface  of  the  floe-pieces  was  now  of  a  hard,  green- 
ish blue,  and  flinty,  being  covered  in  many  places  with  thaw- 
water.  There  were  numerous  cracks  near  the  ship,  but  no 
leads  that  went  in  any  definite  direction,  and  there  was  no 
chance  to  move,  for  the  ship  was  imbedded  in  the  ice  so 
firmly  that  a  whole  cargo  of  explosives  would  have  been 
useless.  Lieutenant  Chipp,  an  experienced  torpedo  operator, 
made  torpedoes  and  all  the  arrangements  for  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  first  opportunity  to  free  the  ship.  But  the 
opportunity  never  came. 

Mr.  Chipp  was  an  accomplished  electrician,  and  during 
the  whole  time  in  the  ice  he  took  up  the  subject  recom- 
mended by  the  Smithsonian  Institution  to  the  Polaris  Expe- 
dition— namely,  observations  of  the  disturbances  of  the 
galvanometer  during  auroras.  He  had  wires  laid  out  over 
the  ice,  and  earth-plates  in  the  water,  and  the  galvanometer 
in  the  current,  and  obtained  over  two  thousand  observations 


184  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

during  auroras,  which  he  intended  to  turn  over  to  a  special- 
ist for  purposes  of  analysis  and  judgment.  He  always  found 
disturbances  of  the  needle  coincident  with  the  most  brilliant 
auroras.  He  also  ran  the  telephones,  which,  however,  gave  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,  owing  to  the  wires  being  broken  by  the 
wind  and  the  ice  movements.  Those  on  the  ship  of  course 
were  all  right.  During  my  sickness  he  also  made  observa- 
tions of  the  eclipses  of  Jupiter's  satellites,  and  got  some 
excellent  results  for  chronometer  errors  by  using  an  improved 
ship's  telescope  mounted  on  a  barrel.  He  afterward  used 
the  transit  telescope  similarly  mounted.  This  was  the  best 
data  for  our  chronometers,  being  far  superior  to  lunar 
observations. 

The  summer  weather  was  very  bright  and  pleasant  for 
about  fifteen  days  in  July,  and  when  the  thermometer  was 
above  40  degrees  Fahrenheit  we  called  it  a  warm  day ;  but 
the  latter  parts  of  July  and  August  were  particularly  bad, 
being  foggy  and  raw. 

During  the  first  year  we  got  sufficient  game  for  table 
use,  and  seal-skins  for  clothing  for  the  men,  but  this  neces- 
sitated a  great  deal  of  hunting,  and  there  was  a  great  scarcity 
of  game  in  this  region.  The  seal  most  frequently  obtained 
was  the  species  called  by  Lamont,  the  "  floe  rat,"  and  averages 
about  sixty  pounds  in  weight,  and  thirty  to  forty  pounds 
when  dressed.  The  men  generally  made  up  the  skins  into 
boots  and  trousers.  The  meat  was  not  pleasant  to  the  taste, 
and  it  required  the  strongest  philosophy  to  enable  one  to  eat 
it  at  all.  Walrus  was  scarce,  the  depth  of  water  being  a 
little  too  great  for  them,  as  they  seldom  inhabit  depths  of 
more  than  fifteen  fathoms.  We  got  six,  however,  which 
furnished  excellent  food  for  the  dogs,  and  our  Chinese  cook 
was  an  adept  in  making  walrus  sausage  for  our  cuisine. 

Bear  chases  were  frequent  and  exciting,  and  about  fif- 
teen animals  were  obtained  the  first  year.  Mr.  Dunbar  was 
the  champion  bear-slayer,  and  was  always  ready  for  a  keen 
jump  when  game  was  reported.  During  the  first  winter  a 
tremendous  bear  approached  the  ship  about  midnight,  drove 


ARCTIC  AURORAS. 


THE   CHAMPION    BEAR-SLAYER.  187 

the  dogs  in,  and  attempted  to  board  us  over  the  port  gang- 
plank. The  alarm  was  given.  Mr.  Dunbar  was  on  deck 
instantly,  with  rifle  in  hand,  and  shot  the  bear  through  the 
heart  at  ten  paces.  It  was  probably  the  biggest  and  most 
ferocious  bear  secured  on  the  cruise,  and  he  had  been 
attracted  by  the  quarters  of  his  comrade  that  were  triced  up 
in  the  fore-rigging.  A  few  foxes  were  seen,  and  their  tracks 
quite  frequently  observed.  They  seemed  to  either  accom- 
pany or  follow  the  bears,  like  pilot-fish  with  the  sharks,  and 
jackals  with  their  ferocious  and  stronger  friends. 

During  the  summer  some  of  us  used  to  take  the  skin 
boats  or  the  dingy,  and  paddle  among  the  cracks.  On  one 
occasion  Captain  DeLong  was  alone  in  the  dingy,  and  was 


A  MUTUAL  SURPRISE. 

interviewed  by  a  bear  who  suddenly  approached  out  of  the 
mist  and  stood  watching  him  in  the  most  dignified  manner. 
The  captain  retreated  in  good  order.  During  the  summer  it 
was  very  difficult  to  get  bears,  because  they  could  take  to 
the  water  so  readily,  and  thus  cut  off  their  pursuers.  Dur- 
ing the  misty  times  they  were  very  bold,  and  on  one  occasion 
a  she  bear  with  two  cubs  approached  the  ship  to  within  400 
yards  of  the  starboard  quarter.  Fortunately,  the  dogs  were 


188  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

on  the  port  side  and  to  windward,  so  they  did  not  scent  the 
bear.  The  greatest  quietness  prevailed,  and  a  squad  of 
about  ten  riflemen  was  immediately  organized  on  the  poop. 
I  was  watching  the  bears  through  a  cabin  air-'port,  and  it 
was  a  very  fine  sight  to  see  the  mother  and  her  two  cubs 
approach  the  ship  in  a  wondering  and  cautious  manner.  I 
could  see  better  under  the  mist  than  the  people  on  the  poop. 
I  heard  the  captain  say : — 

"  Do  any  of  you  think  it  is  over  250  yards  ?" 

All  seemed  to  agree  and  he  said  : — 

"Aim  at  250  yards,  and  wait  for  the  word  '  Fire !'  " 

Then  succeeded  a  volley.  The  bears  reeled  and  made 
several  turns,  and  I  thought  that  we  had  bagged  all  of  them, 
but  was  astonished  to  see  them  get  up  and  walk  off  in  the 
most  lively  manner.  Of  course  all  the  dogs  took  the  alarm 
and  pursued  them  to  the  first  crack,  which  the  bears  calmly 
swam,  across  and  thus  escaped.  But  large  drops  of  blood 
were  seen,  and  the  she-bear  lay  down  once  or  twice  as  if 
wounded.  In  making  her  retreat  she  drove  her  cubs  before 
her,  and  became  impatient  when  they  moved  slowly.  The 
bears  had  been  hit,  but  the  distance  had  been  under-esti- 
mated and  most  of  the  shots  had  fallen  short.  This  was  not 
extraordinary,  because  it  was  very  misty. 

After  this  one  year  of  experience  in  the  ice  we  concluded 
that  the  general  motion  of  the  ice  was  due  principally  to  the 
wind,  and  that  the  resultant  of  the  winds  was  from  the 
southeast.  Some  of  us  talked  about  the  polar  region  being 
covered  with  an  immense  "  ice  cap,"  which  seemed  to  have  a 
slow,  general  movement  in  the  direction  of  the  hands  of  a 
watch,  the  direction  of  the  drift,  of  course,  being  different 
in  the  different  segments.  The  influence  of  Wrangel  Island 
would  be  to  impede  the  drift  of  the  segment  lying  to  the 
northward  and  eastward,  and  I  imagined  that  there  must  be 
a  constant  strife  between  Wrangel  Land  and  the  solid 
phalanx  of  ice  from  the  northeast.  This  polar  ice  cap  we 
know  throws  off  in  its  revolutions  millions  of  acres  every 
year  through  the  gates  of  Robeson'e  Channel  and  between 


POOD   FOB  REFLECTION.  189 

Iceland  and  Greenland.  A  branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream  at- 
tacks it  from  the  Spitzbergen  side,  and  its  influence  is  felt 
as  far  as  the  North  Cape  of  Asia.  The  general  motion  of 
this  "  cap  "must  be  very  slow,  but  the  local  motions  of  course 
depend  upon  the  depth  of  the  ocean  and  the  vicinity  of  land, 
and  near  nature's  outlets  it  is  very  rapid. 

Melville  gave  me  lots  of  food  for  reflection.  He  analyzed 
all  data  obtainable  from  the  Hydrographic  Office  reports  and 
Arctic  literature,  and  marked  on  the  circumpolar  chart  with 
arrows  the  currents  as  reported  by  various  navigators  as 
well  as  those  mentioned  in  the  theories  of  distinguished 
geographers.  We  constantly  discussed  the  question,  and 
both  felt  assured  that  if  the  ship  could  remain  intact  long 
enough,  she  would  eventually  drift  out  between  Spitzbergen 
and  Bear  Island  to  Atlantic  waters.  A  very  high  latitude 
would  doubtless  be  attained,  and  would  depend  in  a  great 
measure  on  the  influence  of  Franz  Josef  Land  upon  the 
motion  of  the  pack.  If  the  ship  passed  to  the  southeast  of 
it,  the  local  motion  to  the  southwest  might  be  very  rapid  by 
the  pack  impinging  on  those  lands  ;  and  if  passing  to  the 
northward,  the  pack  would  bo  deflected  toward  the  Pole  and 
a  very  high  latitude  would  be  obtained,  supposing  no  polar 
continental  land  to  exist.  It  is  my  opinion  that  had  we  en- 
tered the  pack  200  miles  to  the  eastward  of  where  we  did, 
we  could  have  worked  up  near  .Prince  Patrick  Land  ;  for 
Collinson  found  the  deepest  water  over  there  to  the  east- 
ward, and  sounded  with  133  fathoms  without  finding  bottom. 

Our  smallest  depth  the  first  year's  drift  was  seventeen 
fathoms,  and  the  greatest  depth  not  over  sixty,  the  average 
being  generally  thirty,  and  the  ocean  bottom  usually  uni- 
form, with  blue  mud  and  in  some  cases  shale, — something 
like  round  pieces  of  potato,  cut  thin  and  fried,  and  supposed 
to  be  meteoric  specimens.  We  felt  pretty  sure  that  we  would 
continue  to  drift  to  the  northwest  during  the  following  year, 
but  I  was  not  sure  what  influence  the  peculiar  coast  line  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  North  Cape  would  exert,  it  being  in  the 
12 


190 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


form  of  an  elbow,  and  must  therefore  have  great  influence 
on  the  general  motion  of  the  pack. 

From  the  fact  that  the  spars  of  the  Shenandoah's  devas- 
tations drifted  to  Herald  Island,  and  that  the  whaling  bark 
Gratitude  had  been  last  seen  drifting  to  the  northwest  in 
that  vicinity,  we  augured  that  there  must  also  be  some  north- 
west current ;  but  we  have  no  other  evidence  of  a  current 
except  the  formation  of  banks  and  shoals  in  the  vicinity  of 
Herald  Island,  which  may  be  similar  to  the  formation  of 
the  Grand  Banks,  by  the  ice  bringing  earthy  matter  there. 
'The  locality  cast-northeast  of  Wrangel  Land  may  be  regard- 
ed as  the  Arctic  doldrums,  as  far  as  drift  is  concerned.  We 
also  considered  the  possibility  of  drifting  down  the  western 
side  of  Wrangel  Land,  and  then  again  perhaps  once  more 
being  able  to  shift  for  ourselves. 

The  general  health  of  the  ship's  company  was  excellent, 
and  we  looked  forward  coolly,  but  not  without  some  anxiety, 
to  the  long  night  of  the  second  winter,  during  which  time 
we  might  at  any  instant  be  rendered  homeless  and  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Arctic  fiends. 


THE  CROW'S-NEST. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
LIEUTENANT    DANENHOWER'S    NARRATIVE 

(CONTINUED.) 

AT  the  beginning  of  September,  1880,  the  Jeaimette  was 
firmly  imbedded  in  ice  of  about  eight  feet  in  thickness  ; 
but  there  were  immense  masses  shoved  under  her  keel,  and 
the  bows  were  lifted  so  that  the  keel  was  inclined  about  one 
degree,  the  ship  at  the  same  time  heeling  to  starboard  two 
degrees,  and  so  firmly  held  in  this  gigantic  vice  that  when 
the  blacksmith  struck  his  anvil  in  the  fire-room,  one  could 
see  the  shrouds  and  stays  vibrate,  and  they  were  not  very 
taut.  Our  executive  officer  had  slackened  up  the  rigging 
during  the  first  winter,  and  the  contraction  of  wire  rigging 
by  the  intense  cold  was  of  course  very  great.  The  ice  was 
piled  up  under  the  main  chains  and  as  high  as  the  plank- 
sheer.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  ship  the  ice  was  tumbled  about 
in  the  greatest  confusion,  and  traveling  over  it  was  almost 
an  impossibility. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  when  the  cracks  froze 
over,  came  the  best  time  for  travel,  but  the  outlook  was  poor. 
There  was  comparatively  little  snow,  and  what  there  was 
was  constantly  blown  by  the  wind,  and  rendered  salt  by 
attrition  on  the  surface  of  the  ice,  so  that  we  could  not  use 
it  for  culinary  purposes.  The  captain  was  very  favorable  to 
fall  traveling,  and  he  several  times  expressed  himself  to  the 
effect  that  he  would  not  abandon  the  ship  while  there  was  a 
pound  of  provisions  left,  and  we  generally  understood  that 
he  would  hold  on  a  year  longer,  and  probably  start  when  the 
fall  traveling  commenced,  a  year  later.  We  all  considered 
tkat  if  our  provisions  held  out  long  enough,  if  we  were  not 
attacked  by  scurvy,  and  if  the  ship  was  not  crushed  by  the 

(191) 


192  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

ice,  we  should  eventually  drift  out  after  reaching  the  vicinity 
of  Franz  Josef  Land,  either  north  or  south  of  it.  The  morale 
of  the  ship's  company  was  excellent,  yet  we  looked  anx- 
iously toward  the  long  night  of  the  second  winter,  which 
proved  to  be  the  most  fearful  part  of  our  experience.  The 
anxiety  and  mental  strain  on  many  of  us  were  the  greatest 
at  that  time.  We  were  so  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the 
ice  that  the  vessel  might  be  crushed  at  any  moment  by  the 
thundering  agencies  which  we  constantly  heard. 

In  the  month  of  September  the  ship  was  put  in  winter 
quarters  for  the  second  time.  She  was  banked  up  with  snow, 
the  deck-house  was  put  up  for  the  use  of  the  men,  and  the 
awning  spread  so  that  the  spar-deck  was  completely  housed 
over.  Economy  and  retrenchment  were  the  order  of  the  day 
in  fuel,  provisions,  and  clothing.  The  old  winter  routine  of 
meals,  two  hours'  exercise,  and  so  on,  commenced  on  Nov- 
ember 1st,  and  all  was  going  well. 

November  and  December  were  extremely  cold,  but  we  had 
no  severe  gales  that  I  remember.  The  meteorological  observa- 
tions were  taken  every  hour  during  the  first  year,  but  every 
two  hours  only  during  the  second.  They  were  very  thorough, 
and  Mr.  Collins  was  very  watchful  to  add  something  to  the 
science-  to  which  he  was  so  thoroughly  devoted.  During  my 
sickness  the  captain  and  Mr.  Chipp  took  the  astronomical 
observations,  but  eacli  officer  in  the  ship  had  a  round  of  duty 
as  weather-observer  and  to  assist  Mr.  Collins.  There  was  a 
quartermaster  on  watch  all  the  time,  and  steam  was  kept  on 
the  Baxter  boiler  for  distilling  purposes.  To  save  coal,  fires 
were  put  out  in  the  galley  at  3  P.  M.,  being  used  only  from 
seven  A.  M.  till  that  hour. 

The  month  of  January,  1881,  was  remarkable  for  its 
changeable  temperature,  and  as  being  warmer  than  the  two 
previous  months.  About  <he  middle  of  the  month  the  wind 
set  in  from  the  southeast,  and  subsequently  to  that  time  the 
drift  of  the  ship  was  uniformly  to  the  northwest.  The 
depth  of  the  water  began  to  increase  toward  the  northwest, 
but  would  always  decrease  toward  the  southeast  or  south- 


A  WINTER'S  DRIFT 


196 


west,  as  well  as  to  the  northeast.  The  vessel  seemed  to 
drift  in  a  groove,  which  we  called  Melville's  Canal,  as  he  was 
the  first  to  call  attention  to  the  fact.  Mr.  Chipp  took  the 
soundings  every  morning,  and  by  long  experience  we  could 
judge  of  the  drift  so  accurately  that  his  dead  reckoning  gen- 
erally tallied  with  the  observations.  He  adopted  a  scale  by 
which  '  slow '  drift  meant  three  nautical  miles  per  day ; 
*  moderate,'  six  miles  ;  '  rapid/  nine  miles  ;  i  very  rapid,' 
twelve  miles.  He  always  reckoned  the  direction  and  speed 
of  the  drift  and  placed  the  ship  before  making  the  observa- 
tion. His  judgment  was  excellent.  He  and  the  captain 
made  frequent  lunar  observations  for  chronometer  errors, 
but  those  of  the  eclipses  of  Jupiter's  satellites  were  the  best. 


BEAR-HUNTING  ON  THE  FLOE. 

February  was  the  coldest  month  ;  and  the  mean  for  the 
three  months  was  only  six  degrees  lower  than  that  for  the  same 
months  during  the  previous  year.  The  soundings  generally 
ran  thirty-three,  but  one  morning  Mr.  Dunbar  sounded  in 
forty-four  ;  some  called  that  place  Dunbar  Hole.  We  drifted 
over  this  spot  once  again  at  a  later  period.  The  absence  of 
animal  life  prior  to  May  was  greater  than  during  the  pro- 


194 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


vious  year.  All  hands  hunted  every  day,  especially  as  the 
doctor  wanted  fresh  meat  for  the  Indian  Alexai,  who  was 
said  to  have  the  scurvy,  and  suffered  very  greatly  from  ab- 
scesses on  his  leg.  On  May  1st,  Dr.  Ambler  reported  the 
physical  condition  of  the  crew  rapidly  deteriorating,  and  six 
or  seven  were  placed  on  whiskey  and  quinine  to  tone  them 
up.  The  weather  at  this  time  was  good,  and  there  were  no 
spring  gales.  Of  course  when  I  say  good,  it  is  in  an  Arctic, 
sense. 


JEANNETTE  ISLAND. 

During  the  month  of  May,  old  man  Dunbar  was  always  in 
the  crow's-nest,  and  got  blind  several  times.  The  old  gentle- 
man was  looking  out  sharp  for  land,  and  about  the  16th  of 
May  he  was  the  first  to  announce  it  in  sight.  You  can  im- 
agine the  excitement  it  caused,  for  we  had  not  seen  land  for 
many  months  and  had  not  set  foot  on  it  for  nearly  two  years. 

Jeanne tte  Island,  as  the  new  land  was  called,  was  not 
landed  on,  but  the  astronomical  position  of  it  could  be,  and 
doubtless  was,  well  established  from  the  data  obtained  by 
Captain  De  Long.  It  was  by  triangulation,  on  the  base  es- 


JEANNETTE   ISLAND.  195 

tablished  by  observations  on  different  days,  the  ship  having 
drifted  rapidly  and  giving  a  long  base  line,  the  extremities 
of  which  were  established  by  artificial  horizon  and  sextant 
observations.  I  was  confined  to  my  room  at  the  time  of  the 
discovery,  but  every  item  of  it  was  brought  to  me  by  Dun- 
bar,  Melville,  and  Chipp,  and  everything  was  so  minutely 
described  to  me  that  I  could  almost  see  the  land  through  the 
ship's  side. 

I  understood  Jcannette  Island  to  be  small  and  rocky.  The 
southern  end  appeared  high,  and  the  land  sloped  down  to  a 
low  point  to  the  northward  when  the  island  was  first  seen, 
but  subsequently  mountains  behind  the  low  point  were  ob- 
served, and  from  this  fact  the  island  was  adjudged  to  be 
more  extensive  than  at  first  supposed.  Sketches  were  made 
whenever  the  island  was  in  sight,  but  it  would  have  been 
foolish  to  have  attempted  a  journey  to  it,  for  the  drift  of  the 
ship  was  too  rapid  and  the  state  of  the  ice  so  changeable. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  Henrietta  Island  hove  in  sight, 
and  appeared  extensive.  The  drift  of  the  ship  seemed  ar- 
rested by  the  northeast  extremity  of  the  island.  Lieutenant 
'Chipp  was  sick  a-bed  with  what  afterwards  proved  to  be  tin 
poisoning,  and  I  was  confined  to  my  room  with  my  eyes.  So 
Mr.  Melville  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  the  first  to  visit 
Henrietta  Island,  and  he  did  his  work  admirably.  When  he 
left  the  ship  the  captain  judged  the  island  to  be  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  miles  distant,  it  appeared  so  plain,  but  he  had  not 
yet  triangulated  for  it  owing  to  the  state  of  the  weather. 

The  journey  from  the  ship  to  Henrietta  Island  was  one  of 
the  hardest  on  record.  Melville  had  to  travel  over  immense 
masses  of  broken  ice  that  were  constantly  in  motion,  and  in 
most  cases  the  dogs  were  worse  than  useless.  He  landed  in 
a  state  of  exhaustion,  took  a  short  run  on  the  island,  and 
then  ordered  the  men  to  turn  in.  He  intended  to  sleep 
until  ten  o'clock  the  next  morning,  but  was  probably  anx- 
ious, and  when  he  turned  out  his  watch  said  seven  o'clock, 
but  it  was  probably  P.  M.  In  his  anxiety  he  had  slept  only 
an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours.  The  men  said  that  they 


196  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

felt  as  if  they  were  just  going  to  sleep.  Feeling  confident, 
however,  that  they  had  passed  the  twelve  hours  in  their 
sleeping  bags,  he  finished  the  examination  of  the  island  and 
started  back  to  the  ship,  and  was  surprised  on  his  return 
that  he  had  gained  twelve  hours  in  time.  This  was  not  sur- 
prising, from  the  fact  that  during  his  visit  to  the  island  he 
did  not  see  the  sun  but  once,  at  which  time  Erickson  said, 
*  The  sun  is  west,  sir,  and  it  is  morning  with  us.'  So  Mr. 
Melville,  on  his  return,  had  a  suspicion  that  his  time  was 
'out.' 

During  this  trip  Mr.  Dunbar  broke  down  with  snow 
blindness,  and  had  to  be  carried  back  by  the  party  to  the 
ship.  On  the  way  to  the  island  he  went  ahead  to  select  the 
road,  and  worked  so  hard  and  used  his  eyes  so  much  that  he 
became  thoroughly  disabled.  The  old  gentleman  felt  very 
badly,  it  being  the  first  time  in  his  long  career  that  he  had 
ever  been  physically  unequal  to  the  occasion.  He  begged 
Melville  to  leave  him,  his  mortification  was  so  great.  But 
of  course  this  was  not  done.  The  others  bore  the  trip 
remarkably  well.  They  had  been  picked  out  as  the  flower 
of  the  ship's  company. 

There  was  a  mountain  on  the  island  that  the  men 
named  after  the  captain's  little  daughter — <  Mount  Sylvie;' 
also  another  mountain  which  was  called  'Mount  Chipp;' 
two  very  bold  headlands  were  called  *  Bennett  Headlands;' 
one  bald  cape  was  called  '  Cape  Melville,'  in  honor  of  one 
of  the  chief  engineer's  characteristics.  There  was  a  low, 
shingle  beach  cape  extending  to  the  northeast,  that  was 
called  '  Point  Dunbar.'  All  these  names  were  given  by  the 
sailors  who  rambled  over  the  island,  and  we  have  always 
called  them  by  the  names  thus  originally  given  them.  At 
one  time  the  land  appeared  so  near  to  us  that  Machinist  Lee 
said  to  me, t  Why,  I  can  walk  there  and  back,  sir,  before 
dinner.'  On  that  day  I  was  able  to  get  on  deck,  and  judged 
the  land  to  be  between  twenty  and  thirty  miles  distant,  and 
so  I  advised  my  friend  not  to  try  it. 

Melville  told  me  that  he  could  not  tell  the  distance  he 


HENRIETTA    ISLAND. 


19T 


traveled  to  within  ten  miles,  but  that  the  lowest  possible 
estimate  was  eighteen,  and  the  highest  twenty-eight  miles. 
You  sec,  his  journey  back  was  on  a  different  route,  because 
the  ship  had  drifted  and  had  approached  the  island  in  the 
meantime.  He  gave  me  every  detail  of  his  trip  with  great 
minuteness."  The  island  was  bold  and  rocky,  with  a  small 
number  of  birds,  principally  guillemots,  and  very  little  deer- 
moss  on  the  place  where  he  landed.  But,  of  course,  we  do 
not  know  the  possibilities  of  the  extensive  region  to  the 
southwest  of  the  landing-point. 


^   ARCTIC  GLACIER. 

The  island  was  covered  with  an  ice  and  snow  cap,  and 
the  immense  glacier  near  the  landing-place  was  gigantic 
and  magnificent.  I  think  Melville  got  eighteen  fathoms 
close  to  the  island.  No  seal  or  walrus  were  seen,  and  no 
traces  of  bears  on  the  island.  No  driftwood  was  seen. 


198  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Melville  built  a  cairn,  and  buried  a  square,  copper  case  con- 
taining copies  of  the  Neiv  York  Herald  brought  from  New 
York  by  Mr.  Collins,  and  a  copper  cylinder  containing  official 
documents, — the  latter  being  a  record  of  Captain  DeLong's 
determination  to  stay  by  the  ship  to  the  last  moment.  He 
announced  in  them  his  determination  to  stand  .by  the  ship 
as  long  as  possible,  as  he  was  in  hopes  of  making  a  high 
latitude  during  the  following  summer.  We  were  all  very 
glad  when  Melville  got  back,  for  the  ice  had  commenced  to 
swing  around  the  corner  of  Henrietta  Island  very  rapidly, 
the  land  to  the  westward  of  Bennett  Headlands  coming  out 
rapidly,  and  keeping  Collins  and  Newcomb  busily  sketching 
as  the  view  changed. 


A  SKETCH. 

The  ship  continued  drifting  to  the  northwest  rapidly 
until  June  10th.  During  this  time  the  ice  in  which  she  was 
imbedded  began  to  crack,  and  the  area  of  the  piece  was 
decreasing  rapidly.  We  knew  that  the  important  moment 
was  coming  when  tbe  Jeannette  would  be  liberated  from 
this  cyclopean  vice,  and  that  her  future  would  be  more  haz- 
ardous than  while  in  the  monster's  grip;  for  it  was  impos- 


THE    SHIP    RELEASED.  199 

sible  to  shape  a  course,  and  she  would  be  momentarily  liable 
to  be  crushed  by  the  impact  of  the  antagonistic  floe-pieces, 
which  sent  immense  masses  of  ice  into  the  air,  and  among 
which  the  Jeanne tte  would  be  like  a  glass  toy-ship  in  a  rail- 
road collision. 

About  eleven  p.  M.,  June  10th,  I  was  awakened  by  the 
ship's  motion.  It  sounded  as  if  she  were  sliding  down  hill, 
or  off  the  launching-ways.  I  was  frightened  for  an  instant, 
but  immediately  recovered  and  jumped  out  of  bed  for  my 
clothes.  The  ship  had  slid  off  her  bed  after  the  ice  on  the 
port  side  had  opened  with  a  loud  crack.  There  she  floated 
calmly  on  the  surface  of  the  beautiful  blue  water. 

The  Jeannette  was  finally  released  from  her  icy  fetters 
after  an  imprisonment  of  twenty -one  months — that  is,  almost 
the  entire  duration  of  our  voyage — during  which  time  we 
had  been  drifting  with  the  pack.  The  important  point  of 
this  drift  is  that  we  traversed  an  immense  area  of  ocean,  at 
times  gyrating  in  almost  perfect  circles,  and  it  can  now 
.safely  be  said  that  land  does  not  exist  in  that  area.  Of 
course  the  depth  and  the  character  of  the  ocean-bed  and  the 
drift  were  also  determined,  as  well  as  the  animal  life  that 
exists  in  this  part  of  the  world ;  also  the  character  of  the 
ocean  water,  and  many  other  facts  of  interest  which  were 
finished  with  the  discovery  of  the  two  new  islands. 

At  this  time  we  had  a  feeling  of  pleasure  and  pride  that 
our  voyage  had  not  been  entirely  in  vain,  and  we  felt  sure 
that  we  could  add  considerable  to  the  knowledge  of  this 
region  of  the  Arctic ;  and  if  we  could  have  got  out  safely 
without  loss  of  life,  the  voyage  would  have  been  a  grand 
success.  Captain  DeLong,  in  my  opinion,  entered  the  ice 
boldly  and  deliberately,  with  the  intention  of  trying  the  most 
hazardous  route  to  the  Pole  that  has  ever  been  contemplated. 
When  spoken  to  on  the  subject,  within  a  few  days  after  wo 
found  ourselves  imprisoned,  I  stated  that  to  be  my  opinion, 
and  that  he  had  undertaken  the  most  daring  and  magnificent 
venture  on  record. 

To  return  to  the  Jeannette.     She  was  floating  idly,  but, 


200  THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

of  course,  could  not  proceed,  being  hemmed  in  on  all  sides 
by  almost  limitless  masses  of  ice  in  close  contact,  and  having 
only  a  small  pool  in  which  she  could  bathe  her  sides.  The 
starboard  half  of  her  old  cradle  remained,  so  she  was  hauled 
into  it  and  secured  with  ice-anchors  on  the  bow  and  quarter, 
to  await  her  chance  to  escape.  The  rudder  had  been  pre- 
viously shipped,  and  the  screw  propeller  had  been  found  to 
be  undamaged,  so  every  preparation  was  made  to  move  at  a 
moment's  notice.  On  June  llth  Henrietta  Island  was  seen 
for  the  last  time,  to  the  southeast  of  us. 

I  will  now  describe  the  supreme  and  final  moments  in 
the  life  of  the  Jeannette.  At  this  period  of  the  cruise  I  was 
able  to  spend  one  hour  on  deck,  three  times  a  day,  for  exer- 
cise, the  last  relapse  of  my  left  eye  having  taken  place  a 
month  previous.  I  went  on  deck  at  one  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, and  saw  the  hunters  start  out.  The  day  was  clear 
and  beautiful,  there  was  a  light  wind  from  the  northeast, 
and  in  some  quarters  of  the  horizon  it  was  misty  and  very 
much  as  in  the  trade-wind  regions  of  the  Pacific.  A  large 
party  was  sent  out  to  get  seals  and  guillemots,  if  possible. 
My  hour  was  up,  but  I  still  lingered  on  the  quarter-deck,  for 
the  ice  on  the  port  side,  some  twenty-five  yards  distant,  had 
commenced  to  move  toward  us,  and  I  was  fascinated  by  the 
dangers  of  the  situation. 

The  captain  was  on  deck,  and  immediately  hoisted  the 
hunters'  recall,  which  was  a  big,  black  cylinder,  at  the  main 
truck.  They  began  to  come  in,  one  by  one,  and  the  last 
ones  were  Bartlett  and  Anequin,  who  were  dragging  a  seal 
with  them.  At  the  time  of  their  arrival  the  ice  was  in  con- 
tact with  the  port  side  of  the  ship,  and  she  was  heeled 
about  twelve  degrees  to  starboard,  with  port  bilges  heavily 
pressed.  The  two  hunters  approached  on  the  port  side, 
passed  their  guns  to  me,  and  came  up  by  a  rope's  end  that 
I  had  thrown  to  them.  The  pressure  on  the  ship  was  terri- 
ble, and  we  knew  that  she  must  either  lift  and  be  thrown 
up  bodily  upon  the  ice,  or  be  crushed.  During  the  whole 
cruise,  provisions,  tents,  and  boats  with  sleds,  were  kept 


THE   FATAL  NIP.  201 

ready  for  immediate  use,  and  at  this  time  every  step  was 
taken  for  the  impending  catastrophe. 

About  three  P.  M.,  Machinist  Lee  reported  the  ice  coming 
through  the  bunkers,  and  the  captain  immediately  ordered, 
*  Lower  away  ! ' — men  having  been  previously  stationed  at 
the  boats'  falls  and  some  provisions  put  on  the  ice.  Melville 
immediately  contradicted  the  report,  and  the  captain  delayed 
the  order.  Thus  the  ship  lay  for  two  hours  and  a  half,  the 
pressure  of  the  ice  relaxing  at  times  and  the  ship  almost 
righting.  Then  again  she  would  be  hove  over  to  twenty- 
three  degrees,  and  we  felt  sure  there  was  no  longer  any 
hope  for  her,  for  she  would  not  lift.  There  was  nothing  in 
the  world  to  be  done  to  assist  her  at  that  time.  We  had  to 
depend  upon  her  shape.  She  floated  much  higher  than  when 
we  entered  the  pack,  and  that  led  us  to  hope  that  she  would 
lift  easier  in  the  nip  ;  for  the  pressure  of  the  ice  would  be 
below  the  point  where  her  sides  commenced  to  tumble  home. 
On  the  starboard  side,  while  she  was  heeling,  the  nip  was 
felt  on  her  timber  heads,  which  were  the  weakest  parts  of 
the  frame ;  but  on  the  port  side  she  was  pressed  below  the 
turn  of  the  bilge.  Her  fate  was  practically  decided  the 
moment  we  found  she  would  not  lift,  and  a  large  amount  of 
provisions  and  clothing  was  then  placed  on  the  ice  in  readi- 
ness for  the  catastrophe. 

One  watch  went  to  supper  at  half-past  five,  and  the  officers 
had  bread  and  tea  in  the  cabin  at  six.  I  was  on  the  sick 
list,  with  eyes  bandaged,  but  told  the  doctor  that  I  could  get 
the  charts  and  instruments  together  and  be  of  assistance. 
He  said  he  would  ask  the  captain.  Each  officer  kept  his 
knapsack  in  his  room,  and  most  of  us  thought  it  was  time 
to  have  them  on  deck  ;  but  we  would  not  make  the  move 
until  ordered  for  fear  of  attracting  the  attention  of  the  crew, 
who  were  at  work  on  provisions  and  boats.  While  I  was 
taking  tea,  I  saw  Dunbar  bring  his  knapsack  up  and  put  it 
in  the  cabin.  Feeling  that  the  moment  had  arrived,  I  went 
for  mine,  and  at  the  head  of  the  ladder  on  my  return  the 
doctor  said  to  me : — 


202  THE   JEANNETfE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

'  Dan,  the  order  is  to  get  knapsacks.' 

It  seems  that  he  had  stepped  below  and  found  water  in 
the  wardroom,  which  he  reported  to  the  captain,  and  the  or- 
der was  then  given  to  abandon  the  ship.  The  national  ensign 
was  hoisted  at  the  mizzen,  and  Captain  DeLong  was  on  the 
bridge  directing  the  work. 

Lieutenant  Chipp  was  confined  to  his  bed.  I  threw  my 
knapsack  over  the  starboard  rail  and  returned  for  clothes, 
but  on  stepping  into  water,  when  half  way  down  the  ward- 
room ladder,  I  realized  that  the  ship  was  filling  rapidly. 
The  doctor  and  I  then  carried  Chipp's  belongings  out,  and 
I  was  told  to  take  charge  of  the  medical  stores,  especially 
the  liquor.  The  ship  in  this  condition  was  like  a  broken 
basket,  and  only  kept  from  sinking  by  the  pressure  of  the 
ice,  which  at  any  moment  might  relax  and  let  her  go  to  the 
bottom. 

The  crew  worked  well,  and  Edward  Star,  seaman,  espe- 
cially distinguished  himself.  He  was  doing  duty  at  the  time 
as  paymaster's  yeoman,  or  '  Jack  o'  the  Dust.'  The  order 
was  given  to  get  up  more  Remington  ammunition,  and  he  went 
into  the  magazine  when  the  ship  was  filling  rapidly  and  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  two  cases  out.  This  man  was  in  Lieuten- 
ant Chipp's  boat  afterward.  We  always  thought  him  a 
Russian,  but  he  spoke  English  very  well  and  never  would 
speak  of  his  nationality  ;  but  during  his  dreams  he  talked  in 
a  language  that  was  neither  English,  French,  German,  Swed- 
ish, Spanish  nor  Italian,  and  most  of  the  men  thought  it  was 
Russian.  He  was  an  excellent  man  and  a  giant  in  strength. 
The  captain  thought  a  great  deal  of  him,  for  he  served 
him  faithfully  in  every  responsible  position. 

When  the  order  was  given  to  abandon  the  ship  her  hold 
was  full  of  water,  and  as  she  was  heeling  twenty-three  de- 
grees to  starboard,  at  the  time  the  water  was  on  the  lower 
side  of  the  spar  deck.  We  had  a  large  quantity  of  provis- 
ions on  the  ice  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  ship,  but 
Mr.  Dunbar,  who  was  alive  to  the  occasion,  advised  the  shift- 
ing of  these  to  an  adjacent  and  more  favorable  floe-piece.  It 


ENCAMPED    ON   THE    FLOE.  205 

took  us  tin  eleven  P.  M.  to  effect  the  removal.  We  also  had 
three  boats, — namely,  the  first  cutter,  second  cutter  and 
the  whale-boat.  As  soon  as  Dr.  Ambler  had  looked  out  for 
Chipp,  he  relieved  me  at  my  post,  and  I  went  to  work  with. 
No.  3  sled  party,  which  I  had  been  detailed  previously  to 
command.  The  order  was  given  to  camp  and  get  coffee  ;  so 
we  pitched  our  tent  abreast  of  the  whale-boat,  and  I  set 
about  fitting  out  for  the  retreat. 

While  waiting  for  coffee  I  walked  over  to  the  ship  to  take 
a  final  look  at  her,  and  found  the  captain,  Boatswain  Coles, 
and  Carpenter  Sweetman  on  the  port  side  looking  at  her 
under-water  body,  which  was  hove  well  out  of  water.  I 
observed  that  the  ship's  side  between  the  foremast  and 
smokestack  had  been  buckled  in  by  the  pressure,  and  that 
the  second  whale-boat  was  hanging  at  the  davits,  and  also 
that  the  steam-cutter  was  lying  on  the  ice  near  by.  Coles 
and  Sweetman  asked  the  captain  if  we  could  lower  the  second 
whale-boat,  and  the  captain  said  '  No.'  The  three  boats, 
however,  were  considered  enough  ;  and  while  journeying  on 
the  ice  we  afterward  found  Chipp's  boat  to  be  the  favorite 
with  all  hands,  because  she  was  considered  short  and  handy, 
with  sufficient  carrying  capacity  for  eight  men.  I  then  sug- 
gested to  the  men  to  return  to  camp,  for  the  captain  doubtless 
wished  to  be  left  alone  with  the  Jeannette  in  her  last  mo- 
ments. 

We  three  returned  to  the  camp  together,  having  to  jump 
across  numerous  wide  cracks  and  from  piece  to  piece,  and 
soon  after  the  watch  was  set  and  the  order  given  to  turn  in. 
Most  of  us  obeyed  the  order  promptly,  and  were  just  getting 
into  our  bags  when  we  heard  a  crack,  and  a  cry  from  some 
one  in  the  captain's  tent.  The  ice  had  cracked  immediately 
under  the  captain's  tent,  and  Erickson  would  have  gone  into 
the  water  but  for  the  mackintosh  blanket  in  which  he  and 
the  others  were  lying — the  weight  of  the  others  at  the  ends 
keeping  the  middle  of  it  from  falling  through.  The  order 
was  immediately  given  to  shift  to  another  floe-piece  which 
Mr.  Dunbar  selected  for  us.  This  was  about  three  hundred 


206 


THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


yards  from  the  untenable  ship.  After  about  two  hours' 
work  we  succeeded  in  shifting  all  our  goods  and  our  three 
boats  to  it.  We  then  turned  in. 

About  four  o'clock  I  was  awakened  by  Seaman  Kuehne 
calling  his  relief,  Fireman  Bartlett,  who  was  in  our  tent. 
Kuehne  called  to  Bartlett  that  the  ship  was  sinking,  and  the 
latter  jumped  to  the  tent  door  and  saw  the  spars  of  the 
Jeannette  after  the  hull  was  below  the  surface.  We  heard 
the  crash,  but  those  were  the  only  two  men  who  saw  the  ves- 
sel disappear.  It  was  said  that  the  ice  first  closed  upon  her, 
then  relaxing  allowing  the  wreck  to  sink ;  the  yards  caught 
across  the  ice  and  broke  off,  but  being  held  by  the  lifts  and 
braces  were  carried  down  ;  depth,  thirty-eight  fathoms,  as  I 
remember. 

The  next  morning  the  captain  and  others  visited  the 
spot,  and  found  only  one  cabin  chair  and  a  few  pieces  of 
wood, — all  that  remained  of  our  old  and  good  friend,  the 
Jeannette,  which  for  many  months  had  endured  the  embrace 
of  the  Arctic  monster. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

THE  Jeannette  sank  about  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
Monday,  June  13th,  1881.  Daylight  found  us  encamped 
on  the  ice  about  four  hundred  yards  from  where  the  ship 
went  down.  We  had  slept  late  after  the  exhausting  work 
of  the  previous  night.  The  day  was  spent  by  us  in  arrang- 
ing our  effects,  and  in  gaining  rest,  which  was  much  needed. 
Many  of  us,  indeed  quite  a  quarter  of  the  number,  were 
incapacitated  for  active  work  by  reason  of  severe  cramps 
caused  by  tin-poisoning  from  tomato  cans.  Among  the  sick 
were  Chipp,  Kuehne,  the  Indian  Alexai,  Lauderback,  and  the 
cabin  steward. 

The  doctor  recommended  delay  until  the  sick  party  should 
have  recovered ;  but  the  time  was  not  wasted,  and  the  rest 
of  the  crew  began  the  work  of  dividing  the  clothing  and 
stowing  the  sleds  and  boats.  We  had  as  provisions  about 
3,500  pounds  of  pemmican  in  tinned  canisters  of  45  pounds 
weight  each,  about  1.500  pounds  of  hard  bread,  and  more  tea 
than  we  needed.  We  had  also  some  canned  turkey  and 
canned  chicken,  but  these  we  disposed  of  in  the  first  camp. 
We  had  a  large  quantity  of  Liebig's  extract, — a  most 
important  element  in  our  diet.  We  had  a  large  quantity  of 
alcohol,  which  was  intended  to  serve  as  fuel  for  cooking 
during  our  retreat.  We  had  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  a 
good  equipment  of  rifles.  The  provisions  were  stowed  on 
five  sleds,  each  having  a  tier  of  alcohol  cans  in  the  middle, 
and  on  either  side  a  tier  of  pemmican  canisters.  Another 
sled  was  loaded  with  bread  and  a  limited  quantity  of  sugar 
13  (207) 


208  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

and  coffee.     The  weights  of  the  sleds,  when  loaded,  were  as 
follows  : — 

No.  1. — Ship-made  sled,  1,500  pounds. 
No.  2.— McClintock  sled,  1,800  pounds. 
No.  3. — McClintock  sled,  1,200  pounds. 
No.  4. — McClintock  sled,  1,300  pounds. 
No.  5. — McClintock  sled,  1,300  pounds. 
Total,  6,600  pounds. 

We  had  three  boats,  mounted  upon  ship-made  sleds,  each 
of  which  consisted  of  two  heavy  oak  runners,  about  twelve 
inches  high  and  shod  with  whalebone,  of  about  twelve  feet 
in  length,  and  having  eight  to  ten  cross-pieces  made  from 
whiskey-barrel  staves.  The  weight  of  the  first  cutter,  with 
sled  and  outfit,  was  3,000  pounds ;  weight  of  second  cutter, 
with  sled  and  outfit,  2,300  pounds  ;  weight  of  whale-boat, 
with  sled,  2,500  pounds.  Making  a  total  of  7,800  pounds ; 
or  a  grand  total  of  sleds  and  boats  of  15,400  pounds. 

To  draw  these  we  had  a  working  force,  when  the  retreat 
commenced,  of  twenty-two  men ;  and  the  dogs  were  employed, 
with  two  light  St.  Michael's  sleds,  to  drag  a  large  amount  of 
stores  that  we  had  in  excess  of  those  permanently  stowed 
upon  the  larger  sleds.  Each  man  had  a  knapsack  stowed 
away  in  the  boats ;  each  knapsack  contained  one  change  of 
underclothing,  one  package  of  matches,  one  plug  of  tobacco, 
one  spare  pair  of  snow-goggles,  and  one  spare  pair  of  moc- 
casins. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  three  days  after  the  Jeannette  had 
sunk,  the  captain  called  all  hands  and  read  an  order  to  the 
effect  that  we  would  start  at  six  P.  M.  on  the  following  day, 
on  our  march  south ;  that  we  would  work  during  the  night 
and  sleep  during  the  day,  to  avoid  the  intense  light,  which 
might  cause  snow  blindness,  the  routine  to  be  as  follows : — 

At  half  past  five  P.  M.,  call  all  hands,  have  breakfast,  and 
break  camp  at  half  past  six  ;  at  twelve,  midnight,  stop  one- 
half  hour  for  dinner  ;  at  six  A.  M.,  stop  for  supper  and  sleep. 
Ration  table  during  the  inarch  to  be  as  follows  : — 


TRAVELING    OUTFIT.  209 

Breakfast  (per  man) — Four  ounces  pemmican,  two  bis- 
cuits, two  ounces  coffee,  two-thirds  ounce  sugar. 

Dinner — Eight  ounces  pemmican,  one  ounce  Liebig,  one- 
half  ounce  tea,  two-thirds  ounce  sugar. 

Supper — Four  ounces  pemmican,  one-half  ounce  tea,  two- 
thirds  ounce  sugar,  two  biscuits,  one  ounce  of  lime-juice. 

This  amounted  to  less  than  two  pounds  per  man  per  diem. 
The  party  was  divided  into  five  tents. 

No.  1 — Captain  DeLong,  Mr.  Collins,  and  five  others. 

No.  2 — Lieutenant  Chipp,  D unbar,  and  five  others. 

No.  3 — Lieutenant  Danenhower,  Newcomb,  and  five  others. 

No.  4 — Engineer  Melville  and  five  others. 

No.  5 — Dr.  Ambler,  Boatswain  Cole,  and  five  others. 

The  captain  had  also  an  office-tent,  in  which  half  of  his 
men  were  berthed.  The  tents  were  nine  feet  long  by  six 
in  width,  and  required  very  close  stowage  for  seven  men. 
Each  tent  had  a  fire-pot,  a  heavy  galvanized-iron  kettle,  in 
which  a  copper  kettle  was  arranged,  having  an  alcohol-lamp 
beneath  it  with  a  circular  asbestos  wick  ten  inches  in  diame- 
ter. It  also  had  a  stewpan  on  top.  A  cook  was  detailed  to 
each  tent,  with  an  assistant  to  provide  snow  and  to  draw  provi- 
sions. Each  tent  had  a  Mackintosh  blanket  nine  by  six,  upon 
which  the  men  could  lie  at  night.  The  sleeping-bags  were 
made  of  deer-skin,  covered  with  hairless  seal-skin  or  cotton 
drilling.  In  our  tent  there  were  three  such  single  bags  and 
two  double  ones ;  but  generally  single  bags  were  in  the  other 
tents.  Ours  had  been  designed  by  Mr.  Dunbar  in  November, 
1879,  and  were  the  only  ones  that  did  not  require  alteration 
after  we  got  on  the  ice.  Each  boat  was  provided  with  an 
outfit  of  oars,  a  boat-box  with  suitable  articles  for  repairing 
damages,  and  ammunition  for  the  arms  that  had  been  detailed 
to  each  boat. 

The  order  said  that  the  course  would  be  south  17  degrees 
east  (magnetic),  which  was  south  (true).  I  may  here  state 
that  the  boat  compasses  were  intentionally  left  behind,  because 
the  captain  said  he  preferred  the  pocket  prismatic  compasses. 
We  had  six  splendid  Richie  boat  compasses,  always  kept  in 


210  THE   JEANNETTH   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

the  Jeannctte  ready  for  instant  use,  but  they  were,  as  I  said, 
left  behind,  much  to  our  detriment  at  a  later  period.  Each 
boat  had  been  provided  with  a  luff  tackle,  anchor,  and 
grapnel.  Of  course  the  anchor  and  grapnel  had  to  be  left 
behind ;  but  the  whale-boat  retained  the  luff  tackle,  which 
proved  extremely  useful  at  a  later  date.  The  order  of 
march  was  as  follows  : — 

All  hands,  except  a  special  detail  of  four  men,  were  to 
advance  the  first  cutter  to  the  first  black  flag  established  by 
Ice-pilot  Dunbar,  who  was  to  go  ahead  to  select  the  best 
road ;  then  the  second  cutter  and  the  whale-boat  and  provi- 
sion-sleds were  to  be  brought  up  to  the  first  station  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  While  this  was  going  on  the  special  detail  of 
four  men,  with  St.  Michael  sleds,  were  to  advance  the  extra 
provisions;  and  the  sick,  with  the  hospital  sled,  were  also  to 
move  to  the  front. 

We  were  ordered  to  sleep  during  the  afternoon  of  June 
17th,  and  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  we 
commenced  our  long  retreat.  Chipp  was  on  the  sick-list,  and 
I,  with  my  eyes  constantly  bandaged  and  covered,  could  only 
do  light  duty, — so  the  task  of  leading  the  working  party  fell 
to  Melville,  the  captain  directing.  Each  officer  and  man  was 
provided  with  a  harness,  which  consisted  of  a  broad  canvas 
strap,  fashioned  to  go  across  the  chest  and  over  one  shoulder, 
and  which  had  to  be  attached  to  the  sled  by  a  lanyard. 

At  last  the  order  was  given  to  break  camp.  The  order 
was  obeyed  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  drag  rope  of  the  first 
cutter  was  immediately  manned,  Melville,  Dr.  Ambler,  my- 
self and  two  other  men  stationing  ourselves  on  either  side  of 
the  boat  with  harness  fast  to  the  thwarts,  and  then  our 
work  commenced  in  terrible  earnest.  The  snow  was  knee 
deep,  the  road  very  rough,  and  the  ice  full  of  fissures. 
Through  the  former  our  feet  sank  easily,  soon  wearying  the 
best  of  us ;  over  the  fissures,  if  not  too  wide,  we  had  to 
jump  the  boats,  and  we  had  to  drag  the  sled  over  lumps  of 
ice  that  would  have  taken  a  whole  corps  of  engineers  to 
level.  But  we  advanced  steadily,  if  slowly.  We  reached 


THB  START  SOUTHWARD.  211 

one  of  the  black  flags  that  had  been  planted  by  Ice-pilot 
Dunbar,  but  seeing  that  he  had  planted  another  one  ahead 
of  us  we  pushed  on  with  the  first  cutter  to  reach  that  too. 
This  goal  reached,  we  found  that  we  were  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  the  starting  place,  and  that  it  had  taken  us  three  hour* 
to  make  the  distance. 

But  we,  in  our  enthusiasm,  had  gone  too  far.  It  appears 
that  the  captain  had  only  intended  that  we  should  make  a 
single  short  station  on  the  first  day,  but  the  order  had  pro- 
bably been  misunderstood  by  Mr.  Dunbar,  whose  only  wish 
was  that  we  should  make  as  good  progress  as  possible.  So 
we  had  to  return ;  but  on  our  way  back  we  found  that  the 
ice  had  shifted  and  that  our  original  road  had  been  entirely 
broken  up,  and  so  we  had  to  leave  our  sled  midway  between 
the  two  flags  and  then  go  to  the  assistance  of  the  rest.*  We 
soon  found  that  we  had  been  fortunate  with  the  first  cutter. 
During  our  absence  the  captain,  with  a  special  detail  and 
dogs,  had  attempted  to  advance  the  second  cutter  and  whale- 
boat.  He  had  launched  the  whale-boat  across  a  fissure,  and 
had  broken  the  sled  in  hauling  her  out.  No.  1  sled,  named 
the  '  Sylvie,'  had  also  been  broken,  as  well  as  two  others. 

The  ice  was  all  in  motion,  and  we  had  a  very  bad  outlook, 
with  our  boats  and  sleds  at  various  points  on  the  road. 
Chipp  had  been  ordered  to  advance  with  the  hospital  sled, 
with  Kuehne  and  Alexai  and  three  men  to  assist  him.  The 
sled  was  heavily  laden,  and  the  work  was  too  severe  for  the 
first  lieutenant  in  his  weak  state,  and  the  result  was  that  he 
fainted  from  sheer  exhaustion,  requiring  the  services  of  the 
doctor  to  restore  him. 

On  our  first  outward  march,  Machinist  Walter  Lee  had 
fallen  out  of  the  ranks  and  rolled  upon  the  ice  in  agony  with 
cramps  in  the  calves  of  his  legs — a  result,  doubtless  of  his 
having  worked  for  so  many  months  on  the  iron  plates  of  the 
fire  room,  oftentimes  with  wet  feet.  He  was  a  large,  heavy- 
bodied  man,  and  the  unusual  task  fell  heavily  upon  him  at 
first. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  (we  had  been  in  the  region 


212  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

of  the  midnight  sun  since  the  early  part  of  May)  we  had 
advanced  the  second  cutter  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  old  camp;  the  whale-boat  was  about  a  hundred 
yards  back  of  her.  Several  disabled  sleds  stood  at  intervals 
along  the  road,  while  the  balance  of  our  stock  still  remained 
in  the  spot  where  they  had  been  placed  before  the  Jeannette 
went  down.  It  was  a  cold,  foggy  morning,  and  we  were 
very  much  chagrined  at  our  ineffective  efforts.  We  had  a 
cup  of  tea,  then  brought  up  everything  in  the  rear  of  the 
position  of  the  second  cutter,  and  then  camped  down,  leav- 
ing the  first  cutter  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  advance. 
Everybody  voted  this  the  hardest  day's  work  he  had  ever 
done  in  his  life. 

For  two  days  we  stayed  to  repair  damages,  and  we  all 
concluded  that  the  'now  or  never'  policy  of  progress  was  a 
very  ineffectual  one.  It  would  have  been  better  for  us  to 
have  spent  a  few  minutes  in  removing  the  ice  obstacles  out 
of  our  way,  rather  than  to  attempt  to  drag  the  sleds  over 
them  by  brute  force.  I  did  not  know  much  about  sleds  and 
just  how  much  spread  to  give  the  runners,  but  fortunately  Sea- 
man Leach  was  from  the  State  of  Maine,  and  I  depended  on  his 
judgment ;  and  I  may  add  that  our  boat  sled  never  broke 
down  once  after  he  and  Bartlett — an  old  mountaineer  and 
California!!  traveler — had  secured  it. 

After  two  days  we  again  made  a  start  for  the  south.  We 
made  slow  progress,  about  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half  a  day, 
over  the  rough  and  moving  floe.  It  was  terrible  work  for 
the  men.  They  had  to  go  over  the  road  no  less  than  thirteen 
times — seven  times  with  loads  and  six  times  empty  handed 
— thus  walking  twenty-six  miles  in  making  an  advance  of 
only  two  !  The  empty  handed  business  was  the  worst. 

On  the  19th  of  June  the  captain  called  me  into  his  tent 
and  told  me  to  go  with  the  hospital  sled  because,  he  alleged, 
I  could  not  see.  I  remonstrated,  but  without  avail.  I  went 
back  to  my  tent,  naturally  deeply  mortified  to  know  that 
thirty-three  men  were  working  for  their  lives  and  I  was  not 
allowed  to  help  even  at*  the  cooking,  although  physically  I 


STARTLING    DISCOVERY.  216 

was  one  of  the  strongest  men  of  the  party.  That  morning  I 
started  with  the  hospital  sled,  which  was  dragged  by  seven 
dogs,  driven  by  Erickson,  the  doctor  and  1  assisting  over  the 
hummocks.  We  advanced  over  rough  moving  ice  with  great 
difficulty  about  half  a  mile,  and  then  set  up  the  tent  for  the 
three  invalids — Chipp,  Lauderback,  and  Alexai — to  await  the 
coming  up  of  the  rest  of  the  party.  I  myself  would  never 
go  inside  the  hospital  tent.  Thus  the  survivors  trudged 
along,  the  well  heavily  handicapped  by  the  six  or  seven  who 
furnished  no  motive  power  at  all.  Twenty-one  men  did  all 
the  work  for  the  thirty-three. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  the  captain  found  by  observa- 
tion that  the  drift  had  more  than  neutralized  the  way  cover- 
ed by  our  advance ;  that,  in  fact,  we  had  lost  twenty-seven 
miles  by  the  drift  to  the  northwest  in  excess  of  our  march 
to  the  south.  This,  of  course,  was  kept  a  profound  secret. 

By  and  by  Lauderback  and  Alexai  got  well  enough  to 
work ;  and  finally  Mr.  Chipp,  after  several  ineffectual  requests 
to  be  put  on  duty,  was  allowed  to  relieve  Melville  and  take 
charge  of  the  working  party.  Melville  was  put  in  charge  of 
the  road  gang,  which  consisted  of  Lee  and  Seaman  Johnson, 
with  the  dingy  and  the  team  of  dogs.  Their  principal  duty 
was  to  keep  in  position  the  blocks  of  ice  that  were  used  as 
temporary  bridges  to  enable  the  sleds  to  pass  safely  over  the 
fissures.  We  often  came  to  wide  water  holes,  which  caused 
us  much  delay  in  ferrying  over.  The  method  of  doing  this 
was  as  follows  : — 

First,  a  large  ice  piece  was  found ;  on  this  the  boats  and 
sleds  were  placed,  and  then  all  the  floating  mass  was  drawn 
over  by  the  men  on  the  other  side,  who  had  transported 
themselves  across  by  the  little  dingy  or  even  on  smaller  ice 
floes.  Some  of  these  water  spaces  were  as  much  as  a  hun- 
dred yards  wide.  These  openings  were  not  connected,  and 
of  course  could  not  be  used  in  the  direction  we  wished  to  go. 
On  many  occasions  the  boats  had  to  be  launched  and  paddled 
across,  and  then  hauled  up  again  on  the  opposite  side.  Chipp 
took  charge  of  this  part  of  the  work  admirably,  and  the  men 


216  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

were  always  glad  to  have  him  at  their  head.  It  was  wonder- 
ful how  he  kept  up. 

As  soon  as  the  list  was  clear  of  sick  the  hospital  tent  was 
dispensed  with,  and  I  for  many  days  walked  after  the  whale- 
boat,  but  with  Melville  always  watching  me  in  jumping 
cracks  and  pulling  me  out  when  I  fell  in.  I  found  it  very 
difficult  to  judge  of  distances  with  one  eye  bandaged  and  the 
other  covered  with  a  dark  goggle.  Collins  generally  jvalked 
with  me  ;  Newcomb  and  Seaman  Star  followed  other  sledges, 
all  of  us  suspended  from  work.  Besides  these  the  captain, 
Chipp,  Melville,  and  the  doctor  added  little  or  nothing  to  the 
motive  power.  Eight  persons  out  of  thirty-three,  or  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  whole  were  thus,  so  to  speak,  not  work- 
ing their  passage  across  the  ice. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June  the  snow  all  melted  and  travel- 
ing was  better,  but  the  men  had  to  wade  through  pools  of 
thaw-water  and  their  feet  were  constantly  wet.  Seaman 
Kaack's  feet  were  covered  with  blood-blisters,  but  he  never 
gave  in.  Nindermann  and  Bartlett  were  always  the  leading 
men  in  dragging  the  boats,  each  being  stationed  at  the  bow 
to  slew  them  and  to  lift  them  over  heavy  obstructions.  ^As 
the  roads  became  better  we  were  able  to  advance  two  sleds 
at  a  time,  but  we  would  often  have  to  jump  them  from  piece 
to  piece  in  crossing  leads.  Jack  Cole  and  Harry  Warren 
were  the  leading  men  of  one  party,  and  Bartlett  and  Ninder- 
mann of  the  other.  The  number  of  times  passed  over  the 
ground  was  now  reduced  to  seven,  and  the  advance  was  thus 
very  much  facilitated.  Mr.  D  unbar  used  to  start  out,  with 
two  or  three  flags  on  his  shoulder,  and  pick  out  the  best 
road,  planting  his  flags  here  and  there  in  prominent  places. 
The  old  gentleman  was  very  careful  and  efficient,  though  the 
captain  would  often  take  an  entirely  different  road, — on 
several  occasions  insisting  on  ferrying  the  goods  across  after 
the  ice  had  come  together  within  fifty  yards  of  us. 

About  the  12th  of  July  we  saw  a  '  whale  back '  that  looked 
very  much  like  a  snow-covered  island.  There  had  been 
some  slight  changes  in  the  course  previous  to  this.  I  think 


A   DASH    FOB   THE   SHORE.  217 

it  was  changed  to  south  (magnetic),  which  would  be  about 
south  17  (true),  for  there  was  about  17  degrees  of  easterly 
variation.  The  captain  then  shaped  the  course  toward  the 
point  where  land  was  thought  to  have  been  seen.  At  this 
time  we  began  to  see  a  heavy  water  sky  to  the  south  and 
southeast,  and  the  ice  to  the  southwest  was  more  broken  and 
in  greater  motion,  making  traveling  very  difficult.  About 
July  20th  we  worked  nearly  twelve  hours  in  advancing  1,000 
yards  over  small  pieces  of  ice  constantly  shifting.  We  could 
riot  float  the  boats.  The  land  already  mentioned  appeared 
greatly  distorted  by.  atmospheric  effects,  and  indeed,  until 
within  a  few  days  of  reaching  it,  a  great  many  would  not 
believe  that  it  existed  at  all. 

Our  progress  toward  the  land  was  very  slow,  but  finally 
we  could  see  the  glaciers  and  water-courses  upon  it  quite 
distinctly.  We  were  shaping  a  course  toward  the  northeast 
end  of  the  island,  the  drift  of  the  ice  being  along,  the  east 
face.  At  times  we  were  forced  to  remain  idle  in  our  camp- 
ing-place, it  being  quite  impossible  either  to  move  over  the 
rough,  broken  ice,  always  in  rapid  motion,  or  to  launch  the 
boats.  On  the  24th  of  July  we  reached  a  point  not  more 
than  two  miles  distant  from  the  land,  but  the  men  were  so 
exhausted  that  we  had  to  camp.  Next  morning  we  found 
that  we  had  drifted  at  least  three  miles  to  the  southward 
and  along  the  east  side  of  the  island. 

July  27th  was  very  foggy,  and  we  were  working  our  way 
through  living  masses  of  ice,  when  the  mist  lifted  a  little 
and  an  immense  sugar-loaf  towered  above  us.  We  had  been 
swept  in  by  the  current,  and  now  seemed  to  be  our  chance  of 
reaching  the  ice-foot  of  the  island,  which  was  very  narrow, 
rugged,  and  broken,  being  aground  in  nineteen  fathoms  of 
water.  We  finally  got  everything  on  one  big  floe-piece,  and 
as  we  caromed  on  the  ice-foot  we  made  a  rally  and  jumped 
everything  upon  the  ice-clad  beach.  But  before  the  last 
boats  and  sleds  were  hauled  up  the  floe-piece  drifted  away, 
leaving  them  perched  on  the  edge  of  the  ice  in  a  very 
dangerous  position,  and  they  had  to  be  left  there  for  some 


218 


THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


hours.  Then  came  the  difficult  work  of  getting  the  boats 
and  sleds  through  the  very  rough  and  broken  ice-fringe  along 
shore. 

About  six  P.  M.  we  had  succeeded  in  reaching  some  smooth 
pieces  near  the  south  cape,  arid  there  we  camped  down,  each 
tent  being  on  a  separate  piece  of  floe.  There  was  a  solid 
breakwater  outside  of  us, — consequently  we  were  not  in  any 
great  danger,  though  the  blocks  we  were  on  were  sometimes 
in  motion  as  the  tide  rose  and  fell.  At  this  point  the  sides  of 


A   LAND-SLIDE. 


the  island  were  very  bold  and  steep,  composed  of  trap-rock 
and  a  lava-like  soil,  very  dry, — so  much  so  that  frequent 
land-slides  were  occurring  all  the  time  we  were  there.  Mr. 
Collins  and  I  took  a  walk  over  the  rough  ice  and  along  the 


BENNETT   ISLAND.  219 

south  point  of  the  island  in  order  to  get  a  view  of  the  south 
side.  It  appeared  very  rugged  and  trended  off  to  the  west- 
no^thwest.  From  a  high  hummock  we  saw  land  to  the 
west-northwest. 

About  seven  P.  M.  the  captain  mustered  everybody  on  the 
island.  It  was  so  steep  that  we  could  hardly  get  a  footing. 
He  then  unfurled  the  beautiful  silk  flag  that  had  been  made 
for  him  by  Mrs.  BeLong,  and  took  possession  of  the  island 
in  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  called 
it  'Bennett  Island.'  This  was  succeeded  by  hearty  cheers, 
three  times  three,  with  a  good  American  'tiger.'  There 
were  millions  of  birds  nesting  in  the  cliffs,  and  their  noise 
was  almost  deafening.  I  think  one  seal  was  seen,  but  no 
walrus,  during  our  stay  of  nearly  a  week  on  the  island.  The 
south  cape  was  called  Cape  Emma,  after  the  captain's  wife, 
and  was  in  latitude  70  deg.  38  min.  north,  longitude  148 
deg.  20  min.  east. 

The  whaleboat  was  so  long  that  in  crossing  hummocks  the 
stern-post  used  often  to  receive  heavy  knocks  and  her  gar- 
*boards  had  been  stove;  indeed,  she  had  been  shaken  up  so 
badly  that  she  was  as  limber  as  a  basket  and  required  repairs, 
as  did  the  other  boats.  The  captain  and  doctor  thought,  too, 
that  the  party  needed  rest  and  change  of  diet, — so  the  men 
were  sent  out  to  get  birds  and  driftwood,  so  that  we  could 
economize  on  our  alcohol.  In  a  few  hours  they  knocked 
down  several  hundred  birds  with  sticks  and  stones.  These 
were  brought  into  camp  and  divided  out.  Their  effect  after 
being  eaten  was  like  that  of  young  veal,  and  pretty  nearly 
every  one  of  the  party  was  made  sick,  the  doctor  included. 
1  used  to  eat  half  a  peck  of  scurvy  grass  every  day,  and  that 
kept  me  well.  But  we  had  finally  to  return  to  pemmican, 
and  were  very  glad  to  do  so  after  such  a  surfeit  of  birds. 

Mr.  Dunbar  and  the  two  Indians  were  sent  up  the  east 
side  of  the  island  to  explore.  They  were  gone  two  days  and 
reached  the  northeast  point.  They  found  the  land  on  the 
east  side  was  more  promising  than  on  the  south.  They 
found  several  grassy  valleys,  some  old  deer  horns,  some 


220 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


driftwood,  and  saw  large 
numbers  of  birds.  Lieut- 
enant Chipp,  with  Mr.  Colics 
and  a  boat's  crew,  explored 
the  south  and  west  sides,  and 
promising  reports  came  from 
them.  A  fair  quality  of 
lignite  was  found  in  several 
places.  Mr.  Melville  experi- 
mented with  it,  and  deter- 
mined that  it  would  be  ser- 
viceable fuel  for  steaming 
purposes. 

The    tidal    action    at    the 
island  was  very  great,  and 
a  quite    remarkable    for    this 
<  part  of  the  world.     The  ice 
2  outside  of  us  was  in  constant 
g  motion,  and    seemed    to   be 
|  lifted  regularly  with  the  rise 
«  of  the  water.    We  had  a  tide- 
gauge  set  up,  and  it  was  ob- 
served every  hour  by  Bartlett, 
Nindermann,  and  Lee.     As  I 
remember,  the  greatest  rise 
and  fall  was  about  three  feet ; 
they  were  regular  six  hour 
tides.     We  were  there  near 
tlie  lime  of  full  moon,  and 
the    'vulgar    establishment ' 
was  properly  established.   At 
Cape  Emma  the  captain  got  a 
set  of  equal  altitudes  of  the 
sun   for   chronometer  error, 
but  the  weather  was  gener- 
ally misty   and   unfavorable 


SCIENTIFIC   RECREATIONS. 


221 


for  such  work.  A  box  of  geological  specimens  was  obtained, 
and  is  now  in  my  charge,  it  having  been  recovered  from 
the  captain's  cache,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Lena.  The 
doctor  was  very  enthusiastic  about  certain  amethysts,  opals, 
and  petrifactions  that  he  had  obtained ;  these  are  probably 
lost. 


EXPLORING  BENNETT  ISLAND. 

While  on  the  island  I  observed  that  the  sea  to  the  south 
and  west  was  freer  from  ice  than  that  to  the  eastward, 
and  that  water-clouds  to  the  northwest  were  very  common; 
and  it  occurred  to  me  that  in  good  seasons  a  vessel  could 
reach  the  island,  which  might  form  a  good  base  for  explora- 
tions further  to  the  north. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

WE  left  Bennett  Island  about  August  4th.  We  were 
then  fifty-three  days  out  from  the  place  where  the 
Jeannette  had  sunk.  We  were  fortunate  enough  in  being 
able  to  launch  our  boats  and  to  make  better  progress  in  the 
cracks  between  the  floes.  But  we  still  had  to  keep  our  sleds 
for  a  short  time  longer.  Some  of  the  dogs  rendered  us  very 
important  services;  but  about  half  the  number  were  now 
disabled  by  famine  and  weakness.  We  had  forty  originally, 
but  about  sixteen  had  died,  or  had  been  killed  by  the  others 
during  the  two  winters  in  the  ice.  After  the  stock  of  dog- 
food  gave  out,  and  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  game,  there  were 
long  periods  of  starvation  for  the  poor  brutes.  Each  man 
had  a  favorite  animal,  and  would  share  his  own  rations  with 
him;  but  this  was  not  sufficient.  At  Bennett  Island  we 
still  had,  I  think,  twenty-three  left,  and  the  day  before  leav- 
ing eleven  of  the  poorest  of  these  were  shot.  We  took  the 
remaining  twelve  in  the  boats,  but  in  passing  close  to  big 
floe-pieces  these  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble  by  jumping 
out  and  running  away.  Finally,  Prince  and  Snoozer  were 
the  only  two  that  had  sense  enough  to  remain  by  us. 

For  the  next  eighteen  days  we  were  working  between 
floe-pieces,  and  sometimes  making  as  much  as  ten  miles  a 
day  on  our  course  to  the  southwest.  Several  times  a  day  we 
would  have  to  haul  the  boats  out,  and  make  portages  across 
the  large  floe-pieces  that  barred  our  progress.  This  was 
very  severe  work.  We  had  at  this  time  retained  only  the 
boat  sleds,  having  left  the  provision  sleds  and  all  superfluous 

(222) 


A   FATAL   DELAY.  225 

articles  on  a  floe-piece  about  August  6th.  We  now  worked 
during  the  day  and  slept  during  the  night. 

At  Bennett  Island  the  doctor,  who  belonged  to  my  boat, 
had  been  transferred  to  the  captain's,  and  Mr.  Melville  was 
placed  in  charge  of  mine — that  is,  the  whale-boat.  I  was 
ordered  to  remain  in  the  boat  as  a  passenger,  and  to  assist 
in  emergencies.  I  always  carried  my  own  baggage,  and 
assisted  whenever  possible.  Dunbar  was  detailed  with 
Chipp. 

We  made  very  good  progress  until  about  August  20th. 
On  that  day  the  leads  were  very  open,  and  we  thought  we 
were  all  right.  The  wind  was  fresh  and  favorable;  the  first 
cutter  and  whale-boat,  which  followed  closely,  passed  safely 
through  great  quantities  of  ice,  but  the  second  cutter  was  in 
the  rear,  and  became  jammed  by  the  floe-pieces  coming 
together  very  suddenly,  and  Chipp  had  to  haul  out  and 
transport  his  boat  about  a  mile  in  order  to  get  her  afloat 
again.  In  many  cases  a  passage  was  obtained  by  prying 
the  floe-pieces  apart;  but  several  times  these  sprang  back, 
thus  cutting  off  the  advance  of  the  second  cutter.  It  was 
very  hard  and  slow  work,  but  much  better  than  dragging 
the  sleds  over  the  ice. 

The  delay  caused  by  getting  Chipp's  boat  afloat  was  very 
fatal  to  us,  for  the  wind  shifted  suddenly  and  we  -  were- 
forced  to  camp  after  waiting  for  him  several  hours.  The 
ice  jammed  up  during  the  night  so  that  we  had  to  remain 
there  ten  days  without  being  able  to  move.  Then  land 
came  in  sight,  and  we  seemed  to  be  drifting  along  the  north 
face  of  an  island  which  the  captain  at  first  thought  was  New 
Siberia,  but  it  was  afterward  found  that  we  were  drifting 
along  the  north  coast  of  Thaddeoffsky.  We  drifted  along 
this  coast  until  August  28th,  when,  at  last,  we  were  again 
able  to  make  a  move.  We  called  the  place  the  Ten  Day 
Camp.  But  we  had  used  the  delay  in  making  repairs,  and 
the  food  had  been  distributed  per  capita  among  the  boats. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  we  launched  the  boats  again 
and  worked  in  the  pack  for  about  two  hours,  when  further 


226 


THE   JPUNNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


progress  was  again  barred  by  the  ice.  Finally,  new  con- 
necting leads  were  found,  and  we  proceeded  to  the  south- 
ward and  eastward  for  about  five  hours.  Then  we  hauled 
up  for  the  night  on  a  small  piece  of  floe-ice,  which  was 
drifting  very  rapidly  to  the  southward  and  down  the  passage 
between  New  Siberia  and  Thaddeoffsky. 

The  next  morning  found  us  in  navigable  water,  and  with 
land  about  seven  miles  distant  to  the  westward.  Then  we 
rounded  the  south  point  of  Thaddeoffsky.  We  found  the 


THADDEOFFSKY  ISLAND. 

island  to  be  composed  of  mud  hills  that  were  wearing  away 
rapidly  and  forming  shoals  off  the  land.  Beyond  the  low 
hills  there  was  a  wet,  mossy  tundra,  upon  which  we  camped 
for  the  night.  All  hands  were  then  sent  out  hunting.  Rein- 
deer tracks  and  traces  were  numerous,  but  none  were  seen. 
Bartlett  reported  that  he  found  footprints  in  the  sand  made 
by  a  civilized  boot.  The  steward  found  a  hut  about  two 


THE  CAPTAIN'S  BOAT.  227 

miles  west  of  the  camp,  and  a  small  piece  of  black  bread,  as 
well  as  a  small  tusk  and  a  knee  piece  for  a  boat,  fashioned 
from  a  deer  horn.  The  next  morning  we  proceeded  west 
along  the  shore,  the  water  being  very  shoal.  We  saw 
remains  of  several  huts  and  quantities  of  driftwood.  We 
also  saw  lots  of  ducks  and  wild  fowl,  and  Newcomb  succeeded 
in  getting  about  six  brace  of  ducks,  which  were  very  welcome. 
That  night  we  tried  to  land,  but  after  several  ineffectual 
efforts  gave  up  the  attempt,  as  the  water  was  too  shoal  for 
our  boats. 

The  following  is  a  detailed  description  of  the  boats,  with 
lists  of  persons  attached  to  each :  — 

FIRST  CUTTER. — THE  CAPTAIN'S  BOAT.  —  Captain  DeLong, 
Dr.  Ambler,  Mr.  Collins,  Nindermann,  Erickson,  Gortz,  Noros, 
Dressier,  Iverson,  Kaack,  Boyd,  Lee,  Ah  Sam,  Alexai. 

Extreme  length,  20  ft.  4  in,;  breadth,  6  ft.;  depth,  2  ft. 
2  in.,  from  top  of  gunwale  to  the  top  of  keel ;  clinker  built, 
copper  fastened,  inside  lining ;  drew  28  inches  loaded,  and 
had  the  greatest  carrying  capacity  of  the  three ;  fitted  with 
mast  and  one  shifting  lug  sail ;  pulls  six  oars,  and  was  an 
excellent  sea  boat.  She  had  a  heavy  oak  keel  piece  to 
strengthen  her  in  hauling  over  the  ice,  and  it  was  retained 
after  reaching  the  water.  She  was  fitted  with  weather  claws 
at  Semenoffski  Island,  September  llth,  by  Nindermann. 

SECOND  CUTTER.  —  Lieutenant  Chipp,  Dunbar,  Sweetman, 
Star,  Warren,  Kuehne,  Johnson,  Sharvell. 

Extreme  length,  16  ft.  3  in.;  breadth,  5  ft.  1  in.;  depth, 
2  ft.  6  in.,  from  top  of  gunwale  to  top  of  keel ;  clinker  built, 
copper  fastened,  a  very  bad  sea  boat ;  she  was  carefully  fitted 
with  weather  claws ;  had  one  dipping  log  sail  and  four  oars. 
She  had  not  sufficient  carrying  capacity  for  Chipp's  allow- 
ance of  provisions,  so  the  captain  had  two  extra  tins  of 
pemmican  in  his  boat  when  we  separated.  This  is  an 
important  fact,  for  Lieutenant  Chipp  must  have  run  out  of 
food  very  quickly. 
14  " 


228 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


WHALE-BOAT. — Engineer  Melville,  Lieutenant  Danenhower, 
Newcomb,  Cole,  Leach,  Mansen,  Wilson,  Bartlett,  Lauder- 
back,  Charles  Tong  Sing,  Anequin. 

Extreme  length,  25  ft.  4  in: ;  breadth,  5  ft.  6  in. ;  depth, 
2  ft.  2  in.  from  top  of  gunwale  to  top  of  keel ;  clinker  built, 
copper  fastened,  drawing  about  twenty-four  inches  when 
loaded,  this  being  caused  by  the  heavy  oak  keel  piece,  sim- 
ilar -to  those  of  the  first  and  second  cutters.  She  had  one 
mast  and  one  dipping  log  sail,  and  was  fitted  with  weather 
claws  about  September  llth.  The  master  boat-builder  at 


•* 

£      »ft.o 

o 

s 

2ft.8 

0 

2  ft,  9 

« 

aftu 

5 

•^-^ 

•  8ft.8 

J  

* 

^^ 

A— First  Cutter.        B— Second  Cutter.        C— Whale-Boat, 

Mare  Island  told  me  that  she  was  one  of  the  best  fastened 
boats  that  he  had  ever  seen,  and  our  experience  proved  it ; 
for  the  racket  she  stood  on  the  journey  over  the  ice  was  al- 
most incredible.  The  plans  of  the  boats  I  got  from  Carpenter 
Sweetman  at  Kotelnoi  Island,  September  4th,  1881. 

The  captain  decided  to  work  along  the  shoal  that  lies  be- 
tween Thaddeoffsky  and  Kotolnoi  Islands.  There  was  a 
moderate  wind  from  the  eastward,  and  the  captain  tried  to 
keep  close  in,  in  about  four  feet  of  water.  The  result  was 
that  the  first  cutter  was  constantly  grounding,  and  then  la- 
boriously getting  off  again.  We  continued  on  our  course  to 
the  southward,  the  captain's  boat  getting  in  breakers  at  one 
time  and  calling  for  our  boat  to  pull  him  out.  There  was 


A   TERRIBLE    SITUATION.  229 

not  much  ice  at  the  time,  and  it  was  decreasing.  One  day, 
about  noon,  we  ran  through  a  line  of  drift  ice,  and  the  whale- 
boat  struck  on  a  tongue  that  was  under  water.  She  began 
to  fill  rapidly,  and  we  had  to  haul  her  out,  but  not  before  she 
was  two-thirds  full  could  we  reach  a  suitable  ice  piece.  The 
plug  had  been  knocked  out,  but  she  had  sustained  no  other 
damage.  That  afternoon  we  passed  through  a  large  water 
space  several  square  miles  in  area,  with  a  heavy  sea  running. 
We  were  steering  dead  before  the  wind,  having  to  follow  in 
the  wake  of  the  captain,  and  it  was  very  difficult  to  keep 
from  jibing. 

About  three  P.  M.  the  coxswain  let  her  jibe,  and  she  was 
brought  by  the  lee  by  a  heavy  sea  on  the  starboard  quarter. 
The  sheet  was  not  slacked  in  time,  and  the  boat  was  hovQ 
almost  on  her  port  beam  ends.  A  heavy  green  sea  swept 
over  the  whole  port  side  and  filled  her  to  the  thwarts ;  she 
staggered  and  commenced  to  settle,  but  every  man  with  a 
baler  in  hand  quickly  relieved  her,  and  she.  floated  again.  I 
was  never  frightened  before  in  a  boat,  but  it  was  a  most 
dangerous  and  terrible  situation.  There  was  no  chance  for 
the  captain  or  Chipp  to  have  assisted  us,  and  had  another 
sea  boarded  us  not  a  man  of  our  party  would  have  been 
saved. 

The  weather  was  very  cold.  Two  hours  afterward  we  met 
the  ice,  among  which  we  made  our  way.  Chipp' s  boat  was 
still  astern  and  in  the  water  hole,  and  we  were  very  anxious 
about  his  safety.  The  captain  hauled  up  about  seven  p.  M., 
and  camped  with  us.  The  next  day  the  gale  was  still  blow- 
ing, and  Chipp's  boat  still  missing, — so  about  six  P.  M.  the 
captain  hoisted  a  black  flag. 

On  the  following  day  Bartlett  reported  that  the  ice  was 
closing  around  us,  and  that  if  we  did  not  move  we  would  be 
shut  in.  Two  hours  afterward  all  outlets  were  closed. 
Land  was  also  in  sight  at  this  time,  being  Kotelnoi  Island. 
Erickson  was  the  first  to  see  Chipp's  boat,  and  presently  we 
saw  two  men  making  their  way  over  the  floe  and  jumping 
across  the  obstructions.  It  was  Chipp,  with  Kuehne.  His 


230 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


boat  had  been  nearly  swamped,  and  in  a  sinking  condition 
he  had  reached  a  piece  of  ice  and  managed  to  haul  up.  Star 
was  the  only  man  with  his  boat  at  that  time  who  could  walk, 
the  others  requiring  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  to  get  up  circula- 
tion in  their  benumbed  limbs.  The  captain  had  previously 
given  written  orders  that  in  case  of  separation  each  boat 
should  make  the  best  of  its  way  to  Lena  River,  but  he  had 
recommended  touching  at  Kotelnoi  Island.  Chipp  had  for- 
tunately decided  to  follow  these  instructions,  because  he  had 
not  his  allowance  of  food.  We  ourselves  had  been  on  half 
rations  for  some  time.  He  had  remained  on  the  ice  about 


STOLBOVOI   ISLAND. 

twenty-four  hours,  and  then  got  a  chance  to  get  under  way. 
He  told  us  that  by  making  a  portage  of  about  two  miles  we 
could  launch  our  boats  and  fetch  the  land.  He  sent  his  men 
to  assist  us,  and  after  six  or  eight  hours  of  terrible  work  we 
succeeded  in  getting  our  boat  to  the  second  cutter.  That 
night  we  reached  the  southeast  corner  of  Kotelnoi  Island 
and  camped  on  a  low  cape  extending  well  out  from  the 
mountain  and  forming  a  beautiful  bay. 


HUNTING    ON    SEMENOFFSKI    ISLAND.  231 

This  was  September  6th,  I  think.  We  stayed  there  about 
thirty-six  hours.  Large  parties  were  sent  out  hunting,  as 
numerous  deer  tracks  had  been  seen.  Next  morning  we  got 
under  way  again  and  worked  along  shore  until  about  noon, 
when  we  had  to  make  a  long  and  laborious  portage,  during 
which  Mr.  Dunbar  fell  down  exhausted  and  with  palpitation 
of  the  heart.  We  continued  until  midnight,  and  then  camp- 
ed on  a  bleak,  desolate  spot.  Next  morning,  September  7th, 
we  shaped  a  course  for  the  island  of  Stolbovoi  from  the  south 
point  of  Kotelnoi,  fifty-one  miles  distant  to  the  southwest. 
We  had  fresh  breezes  the  first  day,  and  during  the  night  got 
into  a  very  bad  place  and  came  very  near  being  smashed  up 
by  drift  ice.  We  passed  in  sight  of  Stolbovoi ;  but  it  was  not 
considered  worth  while  to  land  on  the  barren  island,  which 
was,  besides,  too  distant. 

On  the  night  of  September  9th,  we  hauled  up  on  a  piece  of 
ice  off  the  north  end  of  Semenoffski  Island,  and  there 
slept.  On  September  10th,  we  rounded  the  north  end  of 
this  island  and  came  down  the  west  shore,  stopping  to  cook 
dinner  and  to  examine  the  island.  Having  seen  the  tracks 
of  deer  going  toward  the  south  end  of  the  island,  the  captain 
suggested  that  a  party  of  hunters  deploy  across  it  and  ad- 
vance to  the  south  in  hopes  of  getting  a  deer.  About  ten  of 
us  went.  I  went  along  the  beach  with  Kuehne  and  Johnson, 
Bartlett,  Noros,  Collins,  and  the  Indians  skirting  the  hills. 
We  raised  a  doe  and  fawn  running  to  the  northward  as  fast 
as  possible,  they  having  previously  seen  the  boats.  Several 
shots  were  fired,  and  the  doe  fell  under  Noros'  last  shot. 
We  hurled  the  body  down  a  steep  bluff  to  Chipp,  who  had  it 
butchered,  and  the  captain  ordered  all  served  out,  having 
previously  given  orders  for  all  hands  to  camp. 

That  evening  the  captain  told  Melville  that  he  and  many 
of  his  party  were  badly  used  up  and  must  have  rest  and  a 
full  meal  before  proceeding.  All  these  days — for  the  past 
twenty — we  had  been  on  very  short  allowance  and  had  never 
had  a  full  meal.  Melville  said  that  he  and  his  party  were 
in  excellent  condition  and  wanted  to  move  on,  and  did  not 


232  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

like  losing  time.  The  entire  deer  was  served  out  and  we 
had  orders  to  remain  till  Monday  morning,  or  about  thirty- 
six  hours.  We  had  noticed  that  after  two  or  three  days  of 
northeast  winds  it  generally  finished  up  with  a  heavy  gale 
from  that  quarter,  and  it  was  thought  we  would  be  likely  to 
get  it  on  Monday  or  Tuesday.  That  evening  Chipp  came 
over  and  asked  me  to  go  out  with  him  to  get  some  ptarmigan 
if  possible.  We  came  upon  a  large  covey,  but  could  not  get 
a  shot.  This  was  my  last  talk  with  Chipp.  He  was  in  bet- 
ter health  than  usual  and  was  cheerful,  but  not  altogether 
satisfied  with  the  outlook. 

On  Monday  morning,  September  12th,  we  left  Semenoffski 
Island,  and  stood  to  the  southward  along  the  west  side  of 
the  island,  lying  to  the  south.  About  half-past  eleven  A.  M. 
we  ran  through  a  lot  of  drift  ice,  following  the  first  cutter. 
It  was  pretty  close  work,  and  our  boat  had  to  luff  through 
between  two  big  cakes  of  ice.  The  sheet  was  hauled  aft  in 
luffing,  and  the  boat  sided  over  against  the  lee  piece,  thereby 
knocking  a  hole  in  the  starboard  side.  She  filled  rapidly, 
and  we  barely  succeeded  in  making  fast  her  bow  to  an  ad- 
jacent cake  of  ice ;  there  we  put  on  a  lead  patch  and  remedied 
the  damage.  This  was  the  .last  piece  of  ice  that  we  saw. 
While  repairs  were  going  on  I  had  a  chat  with  Collins,  who 
was  as  amiable  as  usual,  and  had  some  pleasant  story  to  tell 
me.  The  doctor  was  also  very  affable,  aiid  asked  particularly 
after  my  health  and  comfort. 

We  then  started  on  a  southwest  course.  The  captain  kept 
his  boat  almost  right  before  the  wind  ;  it  was  very  difficult 
to  keep  from  jibing,  and  as  the  whale-boat  was  the  faster 
sailer  it  was  hard  to  keep  in  position.  Our  orders  were  to 
keep  astern  of  the  captain,  within  easy  hail,  and  for  Chipp 
to  bring  up  the  rear,  he  being  second  in  command.  The 
wind  and  sea  increased  very  rapidly,  and  about  five  P.  M.  we 
were  out  of  position  about  nine  hundred  yards  off  the  weather 
quarter  of  the  first  cutter.  Melville  asked  me  if  we  could 
get  in  position  safely,  and  I  told  him  that  by  jibing  twice 
and  lowering  the  sail  we  could  do  so.  He  then  told  me  to 


«  fe 

w  O 

>J  t» 

1 
I 

CO 

H 

e 


A    FEARFUL   NIGHT.  235 

•take  charge ;  so  I  jibed  very  carefully,  ran  down  to  the 
captain's  wake  and  then  jibed  her  again,  each  time  having 
lowered  the  sail,  and  having  gotten  out  two  oars  to  keep  up 
the  headway  before  the  sea  while  shifting  the  sail.  I  then 
had  seaman  Leach  put  at  the  helm,  as  he  was  the  best  helms- 
man in  the  boat.  My  eyes  would  not  permit  my  taking  the 
helm  or  I  would  have  done  so.  We  then  ranged  along  the 
weather  side  of  the  first  cutter,  had  our  sail  close  reefed,  and 
to  keep  from  running  away  from  her  had  to  take  it  in,  there- 
by allowing  the  seas  to  board  us. 

About  dusk  the  captain  stood  up  in  his  boat  and  waved 
his  hands  as  if  to  separate.  This  is  what  the  men  say ;  I 
did  not  see  it.  At  the  same  time  Chipp  was  said  to  be  lower- 
ing his  sail.  Melville  asked  my  advice,  and  I  said  we  should 
steer  with  the  wind  and  sea  four  points  to  the  north  quarter ; 
that  we  could  make  good  weather  of  it  until  dark,  when  we 
should  heave  to  on  account  of  the  liability  to  meet  young  ice 
in  the  darkness.  In  the  meantime  I  advised  that  we  should 
prepare  a  good  drag.  He  told  me  to  go  ahead  and  do  it. 
So  I  ordered  Cole  and  Mansen  to  take  three  hickory  tent- 
poles,  each  about  eight  feet  in  length,  lash  them  in  a  triangle, 
and  lace  a  strong  piece  of  cotton  canvas  across  it, — then  take 
the  boat's  painter,  and  make  a  span  similar  to  the  bellyband 
of  a  kite,  and  to  the  middle  of  this  span  make  fast  the  luff 
tackle  fall.  On  the  lower  end  of  each  tent-pole  there  was  a 
brass  nib  which,  with  the  weight  of  the  wet  canvas  and  the 
bight  of  the  rope,  would,  I  said,  probably  make  the  drag  heavy 
enough ;  if  not  we  would  send  down  the  spare  fire-pot  and 
boat  bucket  to  help  it. 

The  gale  was  now  at  its  full  force,  and  the  seas  were  run- 
ning high  and  spiteful.  Leach  was  steering  admirably,  but 
we  had  to  keep  four  balers  going  all  the  time  to  prevent  the 
boat  from  filling  and  sinking.  The  drag,  having  been  com- 
pleted, was  placed  forward  of  the  mast  in  readiness  for  use. 
1  had  the  drag  rope  coiled  down  clear  for  running.  The 
men  were  very  weary.  There  were  only  two  seamen  in  the. 
boat  who  would  pull  in  a  seaway,  the  others  being  inexperi- 


236  THE  JEANNETTB    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

enced,  except  the  helmsman.  I  had  been  watching  the  seas 
for  a  long  time,  and  had  noticed  that  they  ran  in  threes,  and 
that  there  was  a  short  lull  after  the  third  and  heaviest  one. 
I  had  the  men  detailed  as  follows  : — Wilson  and  Mansen  at 
the  oars,  keeping  them  peaked  high  above  the  sea,  Cole  at 
the  halyards  to  lower  sail,  Anequin  and  the  steward  to  gather 
the  sail,  Bartlett  to  launch  the  drag,  and  Leach  at  the  helm. 
I  gave  preparatory  orders  very  carefully — at  the  words 
4  Lower  away  !'  to  put  the  helm  hard-a-starboard,  lower  sail 
and  give  way  with  starboard  oar,  holding  water  with  the 
port  oar,  if  possible  in  the  seaway. 

I  watched  more  than  five  minutes  for  my  chance,  for  our 
lives  depended  on  the  success  of  that  movement.  At  the 
proper  moment  I  shouted  c  Lower  away  ! '  and  every  man  did 
his  duty ;  the  boat  came  round,  gave  a  tremendous  dive  and 
she  was  then  safe,  head  to  sea.  We  eased  the  oars  and 
launched  the  drag.  It  watched  about  three  points  on  the 
port  bow, — so  I  sent  down  the  spare  fire-pot  and  a  bucket  by 
putting  loops,  or  what  we  call  beckets,  on  the  bales.  Cole 
suggested  sending  down  a  painted  bag  with  the  mouth  open. 
It  filled  with  water,  dragged,  and  was  very  effective.  We 
then  lay  head  to  sea  during  the  night.  A  number  of  the 
party  turned  in  under  the  canvas.  Melville  was  exhausted 
and  had  his  legs  badly  swollen ;  so  he  turned  in  abreast  the 
foremast,  leaving  me  in  charge. 

Leach  and  Wilson  steered  with  a  paddle  during  the  night, 
and  I  sat  at  their  feet  watching.  The  upper  gudgeon  of  the 
rudder  had  been  carried  away,  so  we  took  the  rudder  on 
board.  Our  fresh  water  had  been  ruined  by  the  seas  that 
had  boarded  us,  but  late  011  the  night  before  leaving  the 
island  Newcomb  had  brought  in  several  ptarmigan,  which 
had  been  dressed  and  put  in  our  kettle,  the  other  tents  not 
caring  to  take  their  share.  This  proved  excellent  food  for 
us  the  next  day,  as  they  were  not  too  salt  to  be  eaten. 

At  daylight,  September  13th,  there  were  no  boats  in  sight* 
and  the  gale  was  still  raging.  About  ten  A.  M.  I  noticed  that 
a  new  sea  was  making  and  the  old  sea  was  more  abeam. 


SKILFUL    SEAMANSHIP.  237 

From  this  I  judged  that  the  wind  had  veered  to  the  south- 
east and  would  grow  lighter.  About  noon  the  water  began 
to  tumble  in  very  badly  on  the  port  quarter ;  and  the  boat 
was  down  by  the  stern.  We  were  thoroughly  wet,  and  the 
sleeping  gear  was  so  water-soaked  and  swollen  that  it 
jammed  between  the  thwarts  and  could  not  be  shifted  in 
trimming.  I  rigged  the  mackintosh  011  the  port  quarter,  the 
stroke  oarsman  holding  one  corner  and  I  the  other  for  sevea 
hours.  This  kept  a  great  deal  of  water  out  of  the  boat  and 
acted  like  a  *  tarpaulin  in  the  rigging '  to  keep  her  head  to 
sea.  At  4.40  P.  M.,  per  log,  I  called  Melville  and  told  him 
that  it  was  time  to  get  under  way.  The  sea  was  very  heavy, 
but  was  falling,  and  by  standing  west  at  first  we  could  grad- 
ually haul  up  to  south-southwest  as  the  sea  went  down. 

We  got  under  way  without  getting  a  sea  aboard  and  stood 
to  the  westward,  and  by  eight  P.  M.  were  able  to  haul  up  to 
south-southwest,  on  which  course  we  stood  during  the  night. 
The  second  night  was  more  comfortable,  but  still  we  were 
all  very  wet ;  but  we  were  perfectly  safe.  I  lay  down  for  an 
hour  abreast  the  foremast  while  Melville  relieved  me,  but 
could  not  sleep,  and  soon  returned  to  my  old  place. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

LIEUTENANT  DANENHOWER'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

A  T  six  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  14th,  I  gave  orders 
"^^  to  prepare  breakfast,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we  were 
surprised  by  the  boat  taking  ground  in  two  feet  of  water. 
We  backed  off,  and  I  recommended  standing  to  the  eastward. 
I  had  reckoned  that  when  we  rounded  to  we  were  about  fifty 
miles  off  Barkin,  our  destination;  that  we  had  drifted  at 
least  fifteen  miles  to  the  southwest  during  the  gale,  and  that 
we  had  run  about  twenty-five  miles  during  the  night,  so  that 
we  were  on  the  shoals  north  of  Barkin.  I  said  that  if  we 
stood  to  the  west  we  would  have  no  show ;  but  that  if  we 
went  east  until  deep  water  was  reached,  and  then  stood  due 
south  to  the  highlands  of  the  coast,  we  would  find  plenty  of 
water  and  a  good  landing  place.  Melville  was  of  course  in 
command,  but  he  relied  on  my  judgment,  as  he  did  in  all 
emergencies. 

Bartlett  thought  he  saw  a  low  beach  with  logs  upon  it.  I 
told  him  to  take  another  good  look,  and  then  he  said  he 
thought  he  was  mistaken.  It  was  only  a  smooth  patch  of 
water  among  the  shoals.  We  noticed  that  the  water  was 
only  brackish,  and  that  there  was  a  thin  skim  of  young  ice 
near  us.  We  stood  to  the  eastward,  occasionally  feeling  our 
way  south,  but  always  touched  the  ground  quickly  when 
moving  in  that  direction.  I  noticed  there  was  a  very  strong 
easterly  set  here.  The  winds  were  light  and  southerly  ;  we 
stood  all  night  about  east-southeast,  and  early  next  morning 
got  nine  fathoms.  I  then  recommended  steering  due  south, 
but  Melville  wanted  to  go  southwest,  because  that  was  the 
captain's  course ;  so  I  assented  and  shaped  a  southwest 
course,  which  we  continued  to  steer  until  the  morning  of 

(238) 


ATTEMPTS   TO    REACH   THE   SHORE.  239 

September  17th.  The  winds  were  very  light,  and  we  often 
had  to  pull  the  boat.  I  was  at  the  coxswain's  feet  conning 
the  boat. 

At  daylight  we  got  ten  feet  of  water,  and  soon  after  saw 
a  low  beach.  We  made  two  attempts  to  land  through  the 
breakers,  but  could  not  get  within  a  mile  of  the  shore.  The 
land  trended  north  and  south,  and  I  said  that  we  were 
evidently  south  of  Barkin,  and  that  if  there  was  water 
enough  we  might  fetch  it  that  night  from  the  southward,  as 
we  had  a  good  breeze  about  east.  With  a  view  to  finding 
the  captain  and  Chipp  we  stood  up  the  coast,  hoping  to  reach 
Barkin  before  dark. 

The  condition  of  the  party  on  this  morning  was  very  bad. 
Leach  and  Lauderback  were  disabled  with  swollen  legs,  the 
skin  having  broken  in  many  places,  and  most  of  the  others 
were  badly  off.  We  had  been  in  the  boat  ninety-six  hours 
and  wet  all  the  time.  I  had  taken  the  precaution  twice 
during  that  time  to  pull  off  my  moccasins,  to  wring  out  my 
stockings  and  to  rub  my  feet,  in  order  to  restore  circulation. 
I  advised  the  others  to  do  the  same,  but  the  most  of  them 
unfortunately  did  not  take  the  advice.  I  also  beat  the  devil's 
tattoo  almost  all  the  time  to  keep  up  the  circulation ;  so  the 
next  morning  I  was  the  best  man  in  the  party  on  my  feet. 

After  going  to  the  northward  about  thirty  minutes  we  saw 
two  low  points  of  swamp  land,  and  it  was  evident  that  we 
were  at  the  mouth  of  a  swamp  river.  We  had  a  talk,  and  I 
advised  getting  ashore  as  quickly  as  possible  and  drying  our 
things  out.  So  we  entered  this  river  with  a  leading  wind, 
the  current  being  very  strong.  We  got  as  much  as  five 
fathoms  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  but  it  shoaled  very  rapidly 
on  either  side  of  mid-channel.  It  was  four  or  five  miles 
wide,  but  we  could  not  get  within  a  mile  of  either  beach.  I 
advised  standing  up  the  river  until  noon,  and  then  to  decide 
fully  what  we  should  do.  When  that  time  arrived  I  said 
we  were  probably  in  a  swamp  river,  about  thirty  or  forty 
miles  south  of  Barkin ;  the  wind  was  east,  and  if  we  turned 
back  we  .would  have  to  beat  out,  but  would  have  the  current 


240  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

in  our  favor ;  after  getting  clear  of  the  point  we  could  run 
up  the  coast  with  a  fair  wind.  '  But,'  I  added,  4  if  a  gale 
comes  on  we  will  be  in  the  breakers.'  Melville  then  decided 
to  turn  back  and  start  for  Barkin. 

At  this  juncture  Bartlett  spoke  up  and  said  that  he  believed 
we  were  in  the  east  branch  of  the  Lena.  Melville  referred 
to  me,  and  I  said  that  it  might  be  so,  but  that  we  should 
have  higher  land  on  our  port  hand  if  that  were  the  case. 
The  trend  of  the  river  corresponded  pretty  well  with  the 
coast  outlet,  and  if  we  could  find  an  island  about  thirty 
miles  up  stream  it  would,  doubtless,  prove  that  we  were  in 
that  place.  Bartlett  said  that  he  believed  such  a  vast  body 
of  water  could  not  be  a  swamp  river  ;  it  was  bigger  than  the 
Mississippi  at  its  mouth.  I  still  held  to  my  belief  that  it 
was  a  swamp  river,  but  said  that  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to 
try  to  make  a  landing  before  night. 

So  we  stood  up  stream  and  were  fortunate  enough  to  make 
a  landing  at  seven  p.  M.,  in  what  we  found  afterward  the 
Tunguses  call  an  orasso,  or  summer  hunting  hut.  We  had 
been  108  hours  in  the  boat  since  leaving  Semenoffski  Island. 
The  men  immediately  built  a  fire  in  the  hut,  and  gathered 
round  it  before  they  had  restored  circulation  by  exercise.  I 
knocked  about  outside  and  carried  up  my  sleeping  bag  before 
supper,  so  iny  blood  was  in  good  circulation  before  I  went 
near  the  fire.  We  had  a  cup  of  tea  and  a  morsel  of  pemmi- 
can,  having  been  on  quarter  rations  since  we  separated.  We 
went  to  sleep  with  our  feet  toward  the  fire,  and  several  of 
the  men  passed  the  night  in  agony,  as  if  millions  of  needles 
were  piercing  their  limbs.  Bartlett  described  it  as  the  worst 
night  he  ever  passed.  I  slept  like  a  child  and  was  very 
much  refreshed  next  morning.  We  found  fish  bones,  rein- 
deer horns  and  human  footprints  ;  also  a  curiously  fashioned 
wooden  reindeer  with  a  boy  mounted  on  his  back.  We  were 
very  much  delighted  with  our  prospects  of  meeting  natives. 

Next  morning  we  got  under  way  about  seven,  steered  up 
the  river  about  two  hours,  and  then  could  proceed  no  further. 
Bartlett  started  out  to  reconnoitre,  but  when  he  was  a 


RECONNOITERING.  241 

hundred  yards  distant  I  saw  that  he  was  limping ;  so  I  ran 
after  him  and  sent  him  back.  I  went  about  half  a  mile  and 
saw  several  swamp-like  rivers  coming  from  the  northwest ; 
then  went  back  to  the  boat  and  told  Melville  he  had  better 
prepare  tea  while  Mansen  and  I  took  a  more  extended  scout. 
We  went  further,  and  Mansen  used  his  eyes  for  me.  I  could 
see  some  high  land  about  two  miles  off,  and  I  asked  Mansen 
to  look  well  to  see  if  he  could  get  over  to  it,  for  I  was  sure 
deep  water  lay  alongside  of  it.  He  thought  he  could  trace 
a  passage  to  it,  all  but  in  one  small  place ;  so  we  returned 
with  that  information.  The  land  was  about  ten  feet  high 
and  covered  with  good  deer  moss.  We  saw  many  deer- 
tracks,  especially  where  they  had  come  down  to  water  at  the 
river ;  we  also  saw  another  hut  close  by  on  a  small  flat. 

We  then  went  back  to  Melville,  and  soon  after  started  out 
with  the  boat.  We  had  splendid  luck ;  we  struck  a  passage 
and  reached  the  deep  water.  We  passed  an  island,  and  I 
began  to  think  that  Bartlett  was  right.  We  proceeded  at 
least  thirty  miles  that  afternoon,  and  at  dark  we  reached  a 
point  about  sixty  feet  high,  where  we  expected  the  river  to 
turn  due  south.  Here  we  pitched  the  tents  and  passed  the 
night. 

About  four  o'clock  next  morning  Bartlett  and  I  took  a 
scout.  We  saw  two  large  rivers  to  the  northwest,  and  a 
broad  river  coming  from  the  south.  We  thought  we  were  at 
the  right  turning-point,  but  were  not  sure.  At  six  I  called 
Melville  and  the  others  and  ordered  tea  cooked.  The  wind 
was  fresh  from  the  west  and  blowing  right  on  the  beach. 
We  had  breakfast,  and  then  I  took  the  well  men  and  loaded 
the  boat.  We  struck  the  tents  at  the  last  moment  and 
assisted  Melville  and  Leach  into  the  boat,  close-reefed  the 
sail,  and  made  every  preparation  for  getting  the  boat  off  the 
lee  shore.  After  some  difficulty  we  succeeded  in  doing  this, 
and  ran  close  hauled  on  the  starboard  tack  under  close- 
reefed  sail,  standing  about  south-southwest  under  the  lee  of 
a  mud-flat.  I  was  at  the  helm,  and  Bartlett  on  the  bows  with 
sounding-pole.  We  saw  seven  reindeer  among  the  hills,  but 


242  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

did  not  stop  to  get  at  them.  About  eleven  we  saw  two  huts 
on  the  west  bank  and  in  a  good  situation  for  landing ;  so  I 
recommended  that  we  should  get  ashore  and  dry  out  every- 
thing. 

It  was  Sunday,  September  18th,  and  was  the  first  real  day 
of  rest  that  we  had  taken  for  a  long  time.  We  found  two  very 
nice  summer  hunting  dwellings,  built  with  sloping  sides  and 
shaped  like  the  frustrum  of  a  pyramid,  the  sloping  sides 
forming  the  cover  for  the  occupants  and  the  aperture  at  the 
top  being  the  chimney.  This  was  what  the  Russians  call  a 
poloika  and  the  Tunguses  an  orasso.  The  sun  was  bright 
and  beautiful.  We  opened  out  everything  to  dry  and  passed 
a  delightful  Sunday,  being  sure  that  rescue  was  not  far  off. 
Newcomb  made  a  good  warm  jacket  out  of  his  sleeping  bag. 
We  also  wrote  a  notice  to  the  effect  that  the  whale-boat  had 
landed  at  this  point,  and  stuck  up  a  flag  to  mark  the  place 
of  the  record.  There  were  lots  of  fish  bones  in  the  hut, 
some  refuse  fish,  and  a  piece  of  black  bread,  all  of  which  our 
Indian  ate  with  avidity.  There  were  also  frames  for  nets 
and  for  drying  fish. 

At  eight  A.  M.,  on  Monday,  September  19th,  we  got  under 
way  again  and  stood  up  the  river.  I  was  at  the  helm  and. 
Bartlett  on  the  bows,  and  the  crew,  divided  in  two  watches 
of  four  each,  taking  two-hour  tricks  at  the  oars.  Melville 
was  in  the  stern  sheets  in  command  of  the  boat.  We  stood 
south  for  two  hours  with  light  wind  and  oars.  All  was  going 
well,  and  we  were  in  strong  hopes  of  reaching  a  settlement 
marked  on  the  chart  before  night ;  but  we  soon  began  to  be 
headed  off  by  mud  flats  and  sand  banks.  About  one  A.  M. 
we  were  more  than  a  mile  from  the  west  bank,  which  we 
were  following  because  the  village  was  marked  as  on  that 
side.  We  then  saw  a  point  of  land,  and  I  proposed  to  go 
ashore  to  set  up  the  prismatic  compass  and  get  some  bear- 
ings, as  well  as  to  prepare  dinner. 

After  two  hours'  work  against  a  strong  current  we  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  shore,  and  the  cook  had  set  about 
getting  fire  when,  to  our  surprise  and  delight,  we  saw  three 


FIRST   MEETING   WITH    NATIVES.  243 

natives  coming  around  the  point  in  three  dug-out  canoes  and 
pulling  with  double  paddles.  We  immediately  manned  our 
boat  and  went  out  to  meet  them,  but  they  appeared  shy  and 
stood  to  the  southward.  We  lay  on  our  oars  and  held  up 
some  pemmican,  and  finally  a  handsome  youth  of  about 
eighteen  approached  cautiously  and  took  a  piece.  Then  he 
called  his  two  companions  and  they  also  came  to  us.  We 
then  induced  them  to  go  ashore  with  us  to  the  old  landing, 
where  we  built  a  fire  and  commenced  preparing  tea.  One  of 
the  natives  gave  us  a  goose  and  a  fish, — all  they  had  at  the 
time.  Their  boats  were  very  neat  and  well  fitted  with 
nets. 

I  noticed  that  one  of  the  strangers  had  a  gray  coat  with  a 
velvet  collar,  and  when  I  pointed  to  it  inquiringly  he  said 
4  Bulun.'  Then  I  pointed  to  his  knife,  or  bohaktah,  as  he 
called  it,  and  he  also  said  4  Bulun.'  From  this  I  imagined 
that  Bulun  was  the  name  of  the  place  where  they  had  ob- 
tained them.  We  had  a  very  joyous  time  drinking  tea  and 
eating  goose,  for  we  felt  that  we  were  safe.  The  natives 
showed  us  all  their  hunting  gear,  and  we  showed  them  the 
compass,  the  watch,  and  our  rifles,  much  to  their  delight. 

After  eating  they  crossed  themselves,  shook  hands,  and 
said  '  Pashee  bah.'  They  also  showed  us  their  crosses,  which 
they  kissed ;  and  I  was  very  glad  to  have  in  my  possession  a 
certain  talisman  which  had  been  sent  to  me  by  a  Catholic 
friend  at  San  Francisco,  with  the  message  that  it  had  been 
blessed  by  the  priest  and  I  would  be  sure  to  be  safe  if  I  wore 
it.  I  did  not  have  much  faith  in  this,  however,  but  I  showed 
it  to  the  natives,  and  they  kissed  it  devoutly. 

It  was  the  only  article  in  the  possession  of  the  party,  in- 
deed, that  indicated  to  the  natives  that  we  were  Christians. 
You  can  imagine  our  feelings  at  meeting  these  people,  for 
they  were  the  first  strangers  whom  we  had  seen  for  more 
than  two  years ;  and  I  never  before  felt  so  thankful  to  mis- 
sionaries as  I  did  on  that  day  at  finding  that  we  were  among 
Christian  natives. 

We  indicated  to  the  three  natives  that  we  wanted  to  sleep, 


244  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

by  making  signs,  and  resting  the  head  upon  the  hand 
and  snoring.  They  understood  us,  and  took  us  around  the 
point  where  we  had  hauled  our  boats  upon  the  sand  beach, 
and  then  climbed  a  hill  which  was  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet 
high.  This  was  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  branch  of  the  Lena, 
and  we  have  since  learned  this  to  be  on  Cape  Borchaya,  said 
to  be  about  eighty-five  miles  northwest  of  Cape  Bykoffsky. 
There  we  found  four  houses  and  several  storehouses,  all 
deserted  but  one,  which  was  in  very  good  condition.  There 
was  a.  graveyard  near  by,  with  many  crosses.  We  all  lodged 
in  the  one  house. 

The  natives  were  very  kind  to  us ;  they  hauled  their  nets 
and  brought  us  fish,  parts  of  which  they  roasted  before  the 
fire,  giving  us  the  most  delicate  morsels.  Some  of  the  fish 
we  boiled,  and  altogether  we  had  a  very  enjoyable  meal. 
Then  I  noticed  that  Caranie  (one  of  the  natives)  had  gone 
away,  leaving  only  the  youth,  whom  we  called  Tomat,  and 
the  invalid,  whom  we  called  Theodore.  From  Caranie's 
absence  I  argued  that  there  must  be  other  natives  near  by, 
and  that  Caranie  had  gone  to  inform  them  of  our  presence. 

Next  morning,  wjiile  the  men  were  loading  the  boat,  I 
took  the  compass  and  got  some  bearings  of  the  sun  for  local 
time,  direction  of  the  wind,  and  general  lay  of  the  land. 
Previous  to  this  I  had  interviewed  Tomat,  who  drew  a 
diagram  on  the  sand  showing  the  course  of  the  river,  and 
that  the  distance  to  Bulun  was  seven  sleeps,  which  he 
indicated  by  snoring  deeply  when  he  pointed  to  each  stop- 
ping-place. He  appeared  perfectly  willing  to  go  with  us  as 
pilot  to  Bulun. 

On  my  return,  Melville  asked  me  to  hurry  up,  as  he 
wanted  to  get  off.  I  was  surprised,  and  asked  where  the 
other  native  was.  Melville  replied  that  he  had  left,  having 
refused  to  go  with  us.  I  then  asked  him  to  wait  a  few 
minutes  while  I  ran  back  to  the  house  in  order  to  try  and 
induce  them  to  come.  Returning,  I  found  the  youth  Tomat 
on  the  housetop  looking  very  sad  and  bewildered.  When  1 
asked  him  to  accompany  us  he  replied,  mournfully,  '  Sok ! 


ATTEMPTS  TO  PROCEED.  245 

Sok !  Sok ! '  which  meant  '  No !  No ! '  and  then  tried  to 
explain  something  which  I  could  not  understand,  saying 
*  Kornado,'  which  I  only  afterward  learned  meant  ;  father.' 
I  felt  sorry  for  the  youth,  and  gave  him  a  colored  silk  hand- 
kerchief and  one  or  two  little  things,  and  then  went  back  to 
Melville. 

We  then  started  out  on  our  own  hook  and  tried  to  work 
south  (that  is  toward  Bulun)  among  the  mud  flats  ;  but  in 
this  we  were  not  successful.  At  five  P.  M.  we  had  a  consul- 
tation, and  I  urged  that  we  must  decide  at  once  whether  to 
remain  out  all  night  or  go  back.  •!  recommended  going 
back  and  forcing  the  natives  to  go  with  us.  We  had  two 
Remingtons  and  a  shot-gun,  and  I  knew  that  it  would  be  easy 
to  carry  our  point.  Bartlett  had  been  sounding  from  the 
bow,  so  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  the  way  back.  He  said  yes, 
and  we  started  to  return.  We  did  quite  well  until  dark, 
but  then  the  wind  shifted  and  began  to  blow  a  gale. 
It  was  a  very  bad  situation  for  a  boat  in  such  shallow 
water.  We  were  fortunate  enough,  however,  to  get  under 
the  lee  of  a  mud  bank,  where  we  secured  the  boat,  with 
three  tent-poles  driven  into  the  mud  and  our  line  fast  to 
them.  Thus  we  rode  all  night.  It  was  very  cold,  and  some 
of  the  men  got  their  feet  and  legs  badly  frostbitten.  During 
the  snow  squalls  of  the  evening  before  I  had  to  give  the 
helm  to  Leach,  because  my  glass  would  constantly  get 
covered  with  snow  and  I  could  not  see. 

At  daylight  I  got  Bartlett  and  Wilson  to  stand  up  in  the 
boat  and  take  a  good  look  at  the  land.  Bartlett  said  he 
could  not  recognize  it,  but  Wilson  was  sure  it  was  the  place 
where  we  had  first  met  the  natives.  Bartlett  said  that  if  we 
could  weather  a  certain  mud-flat  we  would  have  a  fair  way 
in ;  so  we  close  reefed,  I  took  the  helm,  and  went  to 
windward  of  the  mud-flat.  Then  we  ran  in  with  a  leading 
wind  and  landed.  Newcornb  shot  some  sea-gulls,  and  we 
breakfasted  on  them  in  order  to  save  our  few  remaining 
pounds  of  pemmican.  Wilson  insisted  that  in  less  than 
15 


246  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

half  an  hour  he  could  go  to  the  house  where  we  had  slept 
the  night  before.  Most  of  us  laughed  at  him,  but  I  told  him 
and  Mansen  to  go  and  see,  while  I  sent  two  men  to  recon- 
noitre in  an  opposite  direction.  Wilson  and  Mansen  came 
back  very  soon.  We  were  rejoiced  to  learn  that  they  had 
seen  the  house. 

JVe  immediately  recalled  our  scouts  and  embarked,  rounded 
the  point,  and  were  received  at  the  old  place  by  the  natives 
in  the  most  cordial  manner.  They  were  headed  by  another 
native,  an  old  man,  who  took  off  his  cap,  and  said  <  Drasti ! 
Drasti ! '  at  the  same  time  shaking  hands.  He  immediately 
took  possession  of  Melville,  who  was  very  lame,  and  helped 
him  up  to  the  house.  We  unloaded  the  boat,  and  carried  up 
the  sleeping-gear.  When  the  natives  saw  a  couple  of  gulls 
that  we  were  expecting  to  feed  on,  they  threw  them  down  in 
disgust,  and  immediately  brought  deer-meat  to  replace  them. 
Veo  Wassili,  for  that  was  the  old  man's  name,  proved  to  be 
our  great  friend ;  he  willingly  consented  to  pilot  us  to  Bulun, 
and  measured  the  boat's  draught,  thus  showing  that  he  was 
wide  awake  and  knew  what  he  was  about.  This  old  Tunguse, 
Wassili,  or  Wassili  Koolgiak,  or  'Cut-eared  Wassili/  in 
his  style  and  bearing  always  reminded  me  of  the  late  Com- 
modore Foxhall  A.  Parker.  He  was  always  dignified  and 
kindly,  and  had  a  certain  refinement  of  manner  that  was 
very  remarkable. 

We  saw  at  once  that  Wassili  was  the  man  whom  Caranie 
had  gone  to  bring  to  us,  and  that  was  why  the  youth  would 
not  go  with  us  until  his  father  arrived.  I  got  Wassili  to 
draw  a  chart  of  the  route  we  should  take,  and  the  following 
is  a  copy  of  it,  with  the  way  in  which  lie  proposed  to  pilot  us 
and  the  points  at  which  we  should  sleep.  [See  next  page.] 

We  took  a  good  rest,  and  were  all  ready  to  start  next 
morning  with  Wassili.  Bartlett  and  myself  asked  to  go 
ahead,  in  order  to  send  succor  from  Bulun  and  also  to  spread 
the  news  about  the  two  other  boats  ;  but  Melville  preferred 
that  we  should  all  keep  together,  for  he  probably  did  not  feel 
that  we  were  out  of  the  scrape  ourselves  yet. 


WASSILI    PILOTS    US   SOUTH.  247 

On  Wednesday  morning,  September  21st,  Wassili,  with 
two  other  natives,  started  with  us,  and  pursued  the  same 
course  that  we  had  done  on  the  previous  forenoon  to  the 
southward  and  eastward  among  the  mud-flats.  He  went 
ahead,  and  had  his  two  men  on  the  flanks  constantly  sound- 
ing with  their  paddles.  Their  boats,  or  veatkas,  are  about 
fifteen  feet  in  length  and  twenty  inches  beam,  modeled  very 
much  like  a  paper  race-boat,  and  provided  with  a  double 
paddle.  The  native  faces  the  bow,  pulling  alternately  with 
the  right  and  left  hand,  the  fulcrum  of  the  lever  being  an 
imaginary  point  between  the  two  hands.  It  is  a  very  grace- 
ful and  fascinating  movement,  and  the  natives  make  their 


NATWE  BOAT* 


boats  skim  along  very  rapidly,  sounding  at  each  stroke  when 
going  in  shoal  water.  Wassili  found  a  channel  among  the 
mud- flats  for  our  boats,  which  at  this  time  drew  about  twenty- 
six  inches.  We  worked  all  day  to  the  southward  and  east- 
ward, and  about  eight  o'clock  P.  M.  hauled  out  on  a  flat  beach 
and  camped  for  the  night,  Wassili  giving  us  fish  for  supper. 
The  weather  was  very  cold  and  raw,  with  a  strong  breeze 
blowing,  and  our  pilot  was  very  anxious  about  the  state  of 
the  river,  fearing  that  we  would  be  stopped  by  young  ice  at 
any  moment. 

The  next  morning  the  banks  were  fringed  with  young  ice, 
but  this  we  broke  our  way  through  and  continued  our  course 
np  the  river.  After  the  sun  came  out,  the  ice  melted,  and 


248  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

we  worked  all  day  through  a  labyrinth  of  small  streams, 
passing  several  hunting-lodges.  At  night  we  slept  in  two 
houses  on  shore,  and  next  morning  we  entered  a  large  body 
of  water  which  we  thought  was  the  main  river.  About  noon 
we  reached  a  point  of  land  on  which  there  was  a  deserted 
village  of  about  six  well-built  houses  and  a  number  of  store- 
houses. Wassili  took  us  to  a  house  and  told  us  to  couche,  or 
eat.  I  noticed  that  one  of  the  natives  went  away  in  his 
canoe.  I  then  took  a  look  at  the  village.  The  houses  were 
in  good  repair,  and  there  were  numerous  troughs  for  feeding 
dogs,  and  cooking  utensils  in  them.  The  doors  were  not 
locked,  but  those  of  the  storehouses  were  well  secured  with 
heavy  iron  padlocks  of  peculiar  shape. 

Things  looked  more  promising  now,  and  I  felt  sure  that 
the  winter  occupants  of  these  houses  could  not  be  far  off. 
During  this  resting  spell  I  examined  Leach's  and  Lauder- 
bach's  feet  and  limbs.  Leach's  toes  had  turned  black,  and 
Lauderback's  legs  were  in  a  fearful  condition,  being  greatly 
swollen  and  having  large  patches  of  skin  broken.  We 
dressed  them  as  well  as  we  could  with  some  pain-extractor 
that  I  happened  to  have  along,  and  when  that  gave  out  we 
used  grease  from  the  boat-box. 

In  about  an  hour  a  boat  appeared  in  sight,  and  a  number 
of  people  disembarked  and  entered  a  house  near  us.  A  few 
minutes  later,  Wassili  came  and  asked  Melville  and  me  to  go 
with  him.  He  conducted  us  to  the  house,  where  we  shook 
hands  with  an  old  native  named  Spiridon,  who  had  two  very 
hard-looking  women  with  him,  each  of  whom  had  lost  the 
left  eye.  They  served  tea  to  us,  however,  in  china  cups ; 
also  gave  us  some  reindeer  tallow,  which  they  considered  a 
great  delicacy.  Spiridon  looked  to  me  like  a  regular  old 
pirate,  and  there  was  an  air  of  mystery  about  the  place  that 
made  me  tell  Melville  I  thought  Spiridon  was  an  old  rascal, 
and  that  I  was  afraid  to  trust  him.  He  gave  us  a  large 
goose,  however,  that  was  dressed  and  stuffed  with  seven 
other  geese,  all  boned,  and  this  he  said  we  must  not  eat 
until  sleeping-tkne  on  the  following  day.  He  also  said  that 


THE    VOYAGE   CONTINUED. 


249 


we  would  leave  next  morning.  Newcomb  had  seen  a  num- 
ber of  ptarmigan  flying  about  the  deserted  houses,  and  had 
bagged  a  few  of  these  beautiful  birds,  which  were  in  their 
white  winter  plumage,  feathered  from  beak  to  toe. 

Then  we  started  with  a  new  pilot  (Kapucan),  a  young 
man  who  lived  with  Spiridon.  Old  Wassili  was  quite  ex- 
hausted, and  he  showed  us  his  left  elbow,  where  he  had 
a  severe  gunshot  wound,  not  yet  healed.  Caranie  and  Theo- 
dore still  accompanied  us,  and  the  former  proved  to  be  a 
better  pilot  than  the  latter.  We  worked  very  hard  that  day 
until  eight  P.  M.,  the  men  pulling  all  the  time  in  one-hour 
tricks.  I  had  the  helm  and  Bartlett  the  sounding-pole.  We 
camped  for  the  night  in  a  paloika,  and  when  we  got  under 
way  again  next  morning  only  four  of  us  were  able  to  load 
the  boat  and  get  her  off  the  beach. 

During  the  previous  three  days  Leach  and  Lauderback  had 
been  working  manfully  at  the  oars  whenever  their  turn  came, 
although  their  limbs  were  in  such  a  condition  that  they  could 
not  stand,  and  they  had  to  be  assisted  to  and  from  the  boat. 
Melville  and  Bartlett  were  in  a  similar  condition. 


CHAPTEE  XX. 

LIEUTENANT   DANENHOWER'S .  NARRATIVE. 

(CONTINUED.) 

ABOUT  noon  we  reached  the  village  of  Geemovialocke 
(which  we  afterwards  found  to  be  on  Cape  Bykoff- 
sky),  where  we  were  received  cordially  by  about  twelve  men, 
women,  and  children.  Melville  and  I  were  taken  to  the  house 
of  a  certain  Nicolai  Shagra,  who  was  the  chief. 

A  few  minutes  later  in  dashed  a  slight  young  man  whom 
we  at  once  saw  was  a  Russian,  and  I  thought  he  was  a 
Cossack.  His  name  was  Efim  Kopiloff,  a  Russian  exile  who 
lived  in  this  village,  and  he  proved  very  useful  to  us 
later  on.  At  this  time  he  could  say  'Bravo!'  which  he 
thought  meant  good,  and  that  was  the  only  word  we  had  in 
common ;  but  in  less  than  two  weeks  he  taught  me  so  much 
Russian  that  I  could  make  myself  fully  understood  to  him  in 
a  mixture  of  Russian  and  Tunguse.  We  stayed  at  Nicolai's 
all  night,  and  his  wife  gave  us  a  fish  supper,  which  we 
enjoyed  heartily.  We  described  as  well  as  we  could  that 
three  boats  had  been  dispersed  in  a  gale,  and  that  we  did  not 
know  where  the  other  two  boats  were  ;  also  that  we  wanted 
to  go  to  Bulun,  which  place  he  told  us  was  fifteen  days  off. 

I  need  now  to  §ive  you  some  explanation  why  we  were  at 
Cape  Bykoffsky,  so  far  out  of  our  course  to  Bulun.  Old 
Wassili,  we  understood  at  the  time,  was  bound  first  of  all  to 
deliver  us  to  the  care  of  his  chief,  Nicolai  Shagra,  and  with 
him  we  eventually  found  ourselves.  The  reason  why  they 
did  not  take  us  to  Bulun,  as  they  promised,  is  not  very  clear, 
even  to  me.  It  was  a  very  unfortunate  time  in  the  season. 
Young  ice  was  making  during  the  night  and  breaking  up 

(250) 


ATTEMPTS   TO   LEAVE   GEEMOVIALOCKE.  251 

and  thawing  during  the  day.  It  was  the  transition  period 
between  navigation  and  sledding.  Nicolai  Sliagra  told  us  it 
would  take  fifteen  days  to  reach  Bulun,  but  I  think  that  he 
meant  that  a  delay  of  fifteen  days  would  be  necessary  before 
we  started — that  is,  to  await  the  freezing  of  the  river.  The 
next  morning  it  was  stormy,  and  he  told  us  that  we  could 
not  go ;  but  about  nine  o'clock  he  came  in  and  began  to 
rush  us  off,  as  if  he  really  intended  to  send  us  to  Bulun. 
He  put  sixty  fish  in  our  boat,  and  made  signs  for  us  to  hurry 
up  and  embark.  We  did  so,  and  he,  with  three  others,  went 
ahead  to  pilot  us  through  the  mud-flats.  Efim  was  in  the 
boat  with  us. 

We  worked  up  the  river  for  about  two  hours,  constantly 
getting  aground,  and,  in  the  teeth  of  a  fresh  breeze,  were 
making  very  slow  progress.  Before  the  village  was  out  of 
sight,  however,  the  pilots  turned  around  and  waved  us  back. 
We  up  helm  and  went  back  to  the  village,  where  they  had  a 
sled  ready  to  carry  Melville  back  to  the  house.  About  four 
of  us  secured  the  boat,  but  Nicolai  insisted  on  hauling  her 
up,  for  he  made  signs  that  she  would  be  smashed  by  the 
young  ice  if  we  did  not  do  so.  The  natives  then  assisted  us, 
and  we  hauled  her  high  and  dry  up  on  the  beach.  The  con- 
dition of  the  men  that  day  was  such  that  I  was  not  sorry 
that  we  had  turned  back,  because  they  were  not  up  to  a 
fifteen  days'  journey  as  represented  by  the  natives.  We 
were  then  taken  to  the  house  of  a  certain  Gabrillo  Pashin, 
where  we  remained  all  night. 

Next  morning  Efim  and  Gabrillo  came  to  me  and  made 
signs  that  they  wished  me  to  go  with  them.  They  took  me 
to  an  empty  house  at  the  end  of  the  village,  where  I  found 
some  old  women  engaged  in  cleaning  up.  They  indicated 
that  they  wished  us  to  occupy  it ;  so  I  had  it  cleaned  out  and 
moved  the  whole  party  into  it  about  noon.  Melville  mustered 
the  party  and  told  them  that  he  and  I  were  afraid  that 
scurvy  had  appeared  among  us,  that  we  must  keep  the  house 
and  ourselves  very  clean,  keep  cheerful,  and  we  could  prob- 
ably get  along  very  well  until  proper  food  arrived.  He  also 


262  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

told  them  that  I  should  take  charge  of  everything  during  his 
sickness. 

The  next  morning  all  hands  except  Jack  Cole,  the  Indian, 
and  myself,  were  in  a  very  bad  condition,  and  we  were  the 
only  persons  who  were  able  to  get  wood  and  water.  Wilson 
was  able  to  hobble  about  the  house  and  prepare  the  fish,  of 
which  we  were  given  eight  per  day — four  in  the  morning  and 
four  in  the  evening.  Yaphem  lived  with  us ;  so  that  made 
twelve  men  with  four  fish,  weighing  about  ten  pounds,  for 
breakfast,  and  the  same  amount  for  supper.  We  had  no 
salt,  but  we  had  a  little  tea  left.  After  a  few  days  the 
natives  gave  us  some  decayed  wild  geese  for  a  midday  meal; 
they  were  '  pretty  high/  as  an  Englishman  would  call  them, 
but  we  managed  to  stomach  them,  for  we  were  capable  of 
eating  almost  anything.  Efim  also  gave  us  some  goose  eggs. 

Thus  we  lived  for  about  a  week.  Then  came  an  orasnik*  or 
native  feast-day,  during  which  Efim  took  some  of  us  out 
to  make  calls,  when  the  natives  presented  us  with  fifteen 
other  geese  of  a  similar  high  character  as  the  others.  But 
our  party  improved  in  condition  day  by  day;  one  by  one 
reported  himself  as  fit  for  duty,  and  in  about  a  week's  time 
Melville,  too,  was  well  enough  to  reassume  charge  informally. 
The  natives  were  generous  to  us.  I  am  not  sure  what  their 
resources  in  fish  were  at  the  time ;  but  I  know  they  were 
not  catching  too  many.  One  day  I  hauled  the  nets  with 
Andruski  Burgowansky ;  we  drew  seven  nets  and  got  only 
eleven  bulook — a  splendid  fish,  one  of  which  he  gave  me  as  a 
present.  There  was  a  little  deer-meat  in  the  village  at  the 
time,  but  we  were  unable  to  get  any. 

One  day  we  were  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  a  Russian  at 
the  village.  I  have  forgotten  to  tell  you  that  on  the  night 
after  we  got  back  the  young  ice  formed  on  the  river,  and  that 
sledding  commenced  in  our  vicinity  about  a  week  later.  This 
Russian  was  brought  to  our  house,  and  I  acted  as  interpreter 
as  well  as  1  could.  Learning  that  he  lived  only  nine  or  ten 
versts  away,  I  asked  him  to  take  me  home  with  him,  as  I 
wished  to  talk  with  him  about  our  future  movements  and  to 


AT   THE   EXILE'S    HOUSE.  253 

learn  the  best  route  for  getting  to  Bulun.  To  this  lie  will- 
ingly consented,  and  at  two  in  the  afternoon  we  drove  over 
to  his  house.  With  him  and  his  wife,  a  Yakut  woman,  I 
spent  the  evening,  and  here  I  learned  some  news  from  the 
great  world  from  whieh  we  had  been  so  long  absent.  He 
told  me  that  the  Czar  had  been  assassinated,  that  the  Lena 
was  still  in  the  river,  that  Sibiriakoff  was  running  some 
steamboats,  and  also  that  Austria  and  Prussia  had  been  at 
war.  He  spoke  of  Count  Bismarck,  of  Generals  Skobeleif 
and  Gourko,  and  the  Turkish  war,  and  of  a  great  many  other 
things  besides.  His  wife  presented  me  with  some  tobacco, 
about  live  pounds  of  salt,  a  small  bag  of  rye  flour,  some  sugar, 
and  two  bricks  of  tea.  And  here  let  me  say  that  the  native 
women  were  always  very  kind,  in  spite  of  their  ugliness,  and 
I  would  like  to  send  up  a  large  load  of  gay  calicoes,  ban- 
danas, and  other  fineries  for  them  if  I  could. 

Next  morning  Kusmah  Eremoff — for  that  was  the  name  of 
this  Russian  exile — took  me  to  the  door  and  showed  me  a 
fine  little  reindeer  which  he  had  bought  for  us,  and  asked  if 
it  suited  me.  I  told  him  it  would  be  very  welcome,  and  so  it 
was  immediately  slaughtered.  We  had  tea  for  breakfast, 
with  fish,  and  fish  pate's  which  the  good  woman  had  made 
specially  for  me  ;  and  just  before  I  left,  Kusmah  promised 
that  on  the  following  Sunday  he  would  take  me  to  Bulun 
with  deer-teams.  I  asked  him  who  else  would  go,  and  he 
said  two  other  Russians.  I  asked  how  many  Tunguses,  and 
he  said  there  would  be  none,  because  they  were  bad ;  and  on 
all  occasions  he  tried  to  indicate  that  there  was  something 
wrong  with  the  Tunguses.  I  asked  him  to  come  over  the 
following  Wednesday  to  consult  with  Melville,  and  then  I 
returned  home  with  the  provender.  Our  people  were  de- 
lighted with  the  change  of  diet.  The  deer,  when  dressed, 
weighed  ninety-three  pounds. 

On  Wednesday,  Kusmah  came  over  as  he  had  promised 
Melville.  We  took  him  down  to  the  boat  and  had  it  turned 
over  for  his  inspection.  We  then  retired  to  an  empty  house, 
where  Melville,  Kusmah,  and  I  had  a  consultation.  Kusmah 


254  THE   JENNEATTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

said  he  could  go  to  Bulun  and  return  in  five  days.  When 
asked  if  he  could  go  quicker  with  or  without  me  or  Melville, 
he  indicated  that  it  made  no  difference.  Melville  decided 
that  Kusmah  had  better  go  alone.  Kusmah  acquiesced,  but 
on  the  following  Friday  we  were  surprised  to  learn  that  he 
was  going  to  take  Nicolai  Shagra  with  him.  I  have  not 
mentioned  that  the  second  day  after  our  return  to  the  vil- 
lage, Nicolai  came  to  us  and  wanted  a  written  paper  from 
us,  which  he  promised  to  forward  to  Bulun  at  the  earliest 
opportunity.  I  wrote  a  paper  in  English  and  French,  which 
Wilson  put  into  Swedish,  and  Lauderback  into  German ; 
and  all  four  versions  of  this  document,  together  with  a 
picture  of  the  ship  and  a  drawing  of  the  American  flag, 
were  sewed  up  in  oil-skin  and  given  to  Nicolai,  who  handed 
them  to  his  wife,  and  that  good  woman  put  them  in  her 
cupboard  for  safe  keeping.  They  were  never  forwarded. 
Subsequently,  Melville  and  I  prepared  despatches  for  the 
Minister  at  St.  Petersburg,  for  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  for  Mr.  James  Gordon  Bennett ;  but  Melville  sent  noth- 
ing by  Kusmah. 

The  day  after  we  arrived  it  was  decided  that  I  should  go 
to  Bulun,  as  I  was  in  the  best  physical  condition  and  the 
most  available  person.  For  more  than  two  weeks  my  pro- 
jected trip  was  talked  about  by  us  and  by  the  men.  I  was 
to  bring  back  food  and  deer  sleds  for  the  whole  party,  and 
also  to  take  the  despatches  which  we  had  prepared.  After 
my  return  from  Kusmah's  house,  however,  Melville  decided 
that  Kusmah  should  go  alone,  and  as  he  promised  to  be 
back  in  five  days  he  decided  not  to  send  any  despatches  by 
him,  but  to  take  them  himself.  He  seemed  to  think  that 
Kusmah  ought  to  get  there  and  back  quicker  if  he  went 
alone,  and  was  very  much  disappointed  when  he  learned  that 
Nicolai  Shagra  went  with  him. 

This  man  Kusmah  was  a  robber,  who  had  been  exiled 
there  and  was  dependent  upon  the  natives  in  a  great  mea- 
sure. He  could  not  leave  his  home  without  official  permis- 
sion ;  but  he  took  the  responsibility  in  this  emergency,  and 


A  SEARCH  FOB  DE  LONG.  255 

evidently  had  to  have  somebody  to  back  him  and  to  assist 
him  as  a  witness,  and  he  therefore,  very  naturally,  took 
with  him  the  chief  of  the  natives,  though  he  first  proposed 
to  take  me.  He  said  that  it  made  no  difference  in  time  if 
one  should  accompany  him. 

The  next  morning  I  told  Melville  that  before  Kusmali  left 
he  should  be  particularly  enjoined  to  spread  the  news  of  the 
two  missing  boats  among  the  natives  everywhere  he  went, 
and  I  said  I  would  like  to  run  over  to  his  house  to  give  him 
those  orders.  Melville  consented.  I  went  down  to  Nicolai 
Shagra's  to  get  a  dog  team,  and  while  there  Spiridon  hove 
in  sight  with  a  fine  team  of  nine  dogs.  I  immediately  took 
possession  of  him  and  his  team,  and  drove  over  to  Kusmah's 
house,  where  I  had  a  long  interview,  during  which  I  went 
over  the  charts  with  him  again.  On  this  occasion  he  told 
me  positively  that  Barkin  was  only  fifty  versts  northeast  of 
his  house,  and  I  immediately  determined  to  go  there  to  seek 
for  traces  of  the  missing  boats.  I  went  back  to  Melville 
and  told  him  what  I  wanted  to  do.  He  did  not  assent  to  the 
proposal  at  first,  but  finally  agreed.  While  at  Kusmah's  I 
wrote  a  line  to  my  brother  in  Washington,  and  gave  it  to 
Kusmah  to  mail  at  Bulun.  My  eye  would  not  permit  writ- 
ing much. 

I  took  my  rifle  and  sleeping  bag,  put  them  on  Spiridon's 
sled,  and  pointed  toward  his  village.  He  seemed  very  much 
astonished,  but  finally  obeyed,  and  started  homeward.  On 
reaching  his  house  I  had  a  consultation  with  him  and  Car- 
anie,  and  tried  to  get  them  to  consent  to  take  me  to  Barkin 
next  morning.  But  they  said  that  the  loos-byral — that  is, 
posh-ice — would  prevent  them  from  going,  and  that  it  was 
impossible  to  go  there  at  that  time  of  the  year.  We  then 
had  supper,  after  which  I  hunted  up  old  Cut-eared  Wassili, 
and  he  consented  to  take  me  to  Kahoomah,  which  Kapucan 
said  was  to  the  northwest  of  us.  If  I  could  not  go  to  Bar- 
kin,  I  was  glad  at  any  rate  to  go  to  the  northwest  to  search 
in  that  quarter  and  to  spread  the  news. 

The  next  morning  Wassili,  Kapucan,  and  I  started  with 


256  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

twelve  dogs  for  Kahoomah.  We  first  went  down  a  little 
river  to  the  southeast,  and  the  young  ice  broke  in  many 
places,  letting  the  dogs  arid  sled  into  the  shallow  water.  I 
was  surprised  at  the  southeast  course,  for  Kapucan  had  told 
ine  that  Kahoomah  was  to  the  northwest.  After  thinking  a 
few  moments  I  concluded  that  Kahoomah  must  be  the  Tun- 
guse  name  for  Kusmah,  and  that  surmise  proved  to  be  correct. 
They  took  me  back  to  Kusmah's  house,  where  they  had  an- 
other talk,  and  then  agreed  to  try  to  take  me  to  Barkin.  I 
eet  up  the  compass,  and  Kusmah  pointed  to  the  northeast, 
saying  that  Barkin  was  -nly  fifty  versts  distant  in  that 
direction,  but  that  we  would  have  to  go  first  to  the  southeast 
and  then  swing  round  to  the  northward. 

We  had  to  wait  all  night  for  another  sled  from  our  village. 
It  came  next  morning,  and  then  we  started  to  the  southeast. 
About  eleven  o'clock  we  came  to  a  big  river  running  north, 
and  I  noticed  that  old  Wassili  looked  up  the  stream  very 
anxiously  and  thoughtfully.  I  set  up  the  compass,  and  when 
the  needle  came  to  rest  the  natives  sung  out  with  delight 
and  surprise,  '  Tahrahoo,'  and  pointed  toward  the  south  end 
of  the  needle.  I  insisted,  however,  on  going  north,  but  the 
old  man  said  it  was  impossible,  on  account  of  loos-byral  or 
posh-ice.  I  then  decided  to  let  him  follow  his  intentions  and 
see  what  they  were. 

About  four  P.  M.,  after  having  traveled  over  a  region 
covered  with  driftwood,  we  reached  a  small  hut  situated 
near  a  bold  headland,  and  the  island  that  they  call  Tahrahoo 
was  about  three  miles  off  shore.  They  said  they  would  take 
me  there  the  next  morning.  At  this  time  another  sled  hove 
in  sight ;  it  was  driven  by  an  old  man  named  Dimitrius,  who 
had  been  sent  after  us  by  Kusmah,  with  a  kettle  and  a  tea- 
pot for  me.  Wassili  and  I  went  upon  the  hill  about  sunset, 
and  had  a  good  view  of  the  river  and  the  adjacent  island. 
He  indicated  that  the  steamer  Lena  had  entered  there,  and 
that  there  might  be  some  signs  of  boats  on  the  adjacent  is- 
lands ;  but  I  told  him  that  I  wanted  to  go  round  the  head- 


RETURN   OP   THE   EXILE.  257 

land  and  to  the  northward.     But  both  old  men  insisted  that 
this  would  be  impossible. 

The  next  morning,  to  satisfy  me,  they  started  toward  the 
island,  the  two  old  men  and  myself  going  in  advance,  to  test 
the  young  ice.  About  a  mile  off  shore  the  ice  was  black  and 
treacherous,  and  so  unsafe  that  the  old  men  refused  to  go 
any  further.  So  we  had  to  turn  back  and  return  from  a 
fruitless  search.  It  demonstrated,  however,  that  what  the 
natives  said  was  true — that  the  ice  was  not  strong  enough 
for  traveling.  The  second  night  we  slept  at  Kusmah's,  and 
then  returned  to  Geemovialocke. 

At  the  end  of  five  days  Kusmah  had  not  returned,  and  it 
was  not  until  October  29th  that  he  put  in  an  appearance, 
after  an  absence  of  thirteen  days.  On  his  way  back,  at  Ku- 
mak  Surka,  he  had,  however,  met  with  the  two  meu  of  the 
captain's  party,  Noros  and  Nindermann,  who  had  written  a 
brief  statement  about  the  condition  of  the  captain's  party. 
They  gave  it  to  Kusmah,  and  he  hastened  to  bring  it  to  us. 
He  told  us  that  the  men  were  to  have  reached  Bulun  the 
previous  day  (October  28th)  ;  so  Melville  immediately  start- 
ed with  old  Wassili  and  dog  teams,  to  find  the  men  and  learn 
the  position  of  the  captain's  party  and  carry  food  to  them. 
He  gave  me  orders,  which  he  afterward  put  in  writing,  to 
take  charge  of  the  party  and  get  it  to  Bulun  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. 

On  November  1st,  the  Bulun  commandant,  a  Cossack, 
named  Gregory  Miketereff  Baishoff,  came  to  us  with  a  good 
supply  of  bread,  deer-meat,  and  tea.  He  handed  me  a  long 
document  addressed  to  the  American  Minister  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  signed  by  Noros  and  Nindermann.  It  contained 
some  details  of  the  captain's  position,  but  was  not  definite 
enough  to  allow  me  to  start  immediately  to  their  relief.  Be- 
sides, I  knew  that  Kumak  Surka  was  nearer  to  Bulun  than 
to  us,  and  that  Melville,  after  seeing  the  men,  could  get  to 
the  captain  much  quicker  than  we  could ;  so  I  immediately 
despatched  the  document  to  Melville,  by  special  courier 
James  II.  Bartlett,  fireman,  who  was  the  best  man  of  the 


258  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

party  at  that  time.  The  commandant  at  the  same  time  had 
the  foresight  to  appoint  a  rendezvous  at  which  he  and  I 
should  meet  Melville  on  his  way  north.  He  also  sent  a 
letter  to  a  subordinate,  ordering  him  to  equip  Melville  for 
the  journey.  This  man  was  a  non-commissioned  officer  of 
Cossacks,  and  he  acted  with  great  intelligence  and  good 
judgment.  He  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  man,  with  black  side 
whiskers,  forty-two  years  of  age. 

Bartlett  started  that  night  with  a  deer  team,  and  was 
likely  to  get  to  Bulun  only  a  few  hours  after  Melville,  be- 
cause the  latter  had  taken  the  dog  road,  which  was  240 
versts  long,  while  the  deer  road  was  only  eighty  versts 
across  country.  The  commandant  had  come  by  the  deer 
road,  thus  missing  Melville.  I  told  the  commandant  that  he 
must  get  us  to  Bulun  as  soon  as  possible,  but  he  was  rather 
non-committal,  and  would  not  state  a  definite  time  for 
starting. 

That  night  I  slept  uneasily  and  was  awake  by  four  o'clock 
next  morning.  Efim  was  up,  and  I  asked  him  where  he 
was  going.  He  said  that  he  was  going  with  the  command- 
ant to  Arrhue,  the  village  where  Spiridon  and  Wassili  lived. 
I  told  him  to  tell  the  commandant  to  come  to  me  immedi- 
ately. I  thought  I  would  try  a  high-handed  game  with  this 
Cossack  commandant,  and  it  worked  admirably.  He  came 
to  me  about  five  A.  M.,  in  uniform,  and  I  told  him  that  if  he 
did  not  get  us  clothed  and  started  by  daylight  next  morning 
I  would  report  him  to  General  Tchernieff  and  have  him 
punished ;  but  that  if  he  did  well  and  got  us  ready  he  would 
be  handsomely  rewarded.  He  accepted  the  situation  gravely 
and  said  '  Karascho,'  which  meant '  all  right.'  I  invited  him 
to  sleep  with  us  the  next  night;  and  the  next  morning, 
at  daylight,  fourteen  dog  teams,  with  about  two  hundred 
dogs,  were  assembled  at  our  village,  and  the  natives  brought 
us  an  ample  supply  of  skin  clothing.  This  was  Thursday, 
November  3d. 

We  started  for  Bulun,  and  on  Saturday  met  Melville  at 
Kumak  Surka  Serai,  which  is  the  first  deer  station.  I  had  a 


JOURNEY   TO    YAKUTSK.  259 

long  consultation  with  him,  and  he  told  me  that  there  was  no 
possible  hope  for  the  captain's  party,  but  that  he  and  the  two 
natives  were  going  to  the  spot  where  Noros  and  Ninderinami 
had  left  him,  and  also  to  the  Ar.ctic  Ocean  to  look  for  relics. 
He  told  me,  further,  that  he  had  left  written  orders  at  Bulunfor 
me  to  proceed  to  Yakutsk  with  the  whole  party.  I  will  here 
state  that  his  orders  to  me  were  given  by  virtue  of  a  written 
order  from  Lieutenant  DeLong  which  placed  him  in  com- 
mand of  my  boat,  and  all  persons  embarked  in  the  boat  were 
made  subject  to  Melville's  orders  and  directions.  Thisl  knew 
to  be  unlawful ;  but,  as  the  captain  was  the  highest  naval 
authority  at  the  time,  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  obey.  And 
so  I  had  accepted  duty  under  Melville  from  the  time  of  the 
separation,  because  I  considered  that  it  was  my  duty,  under 
the  circumstances,  to  do  so. 

We  arrived  at  Bulun  on  Sunday,  and  the  commandant  in- 
formed me  that  we  must  remain  until  the  following  Satur- 
day. I  found  written  orders  from  Melville  telling  me  to  pro- 
ceed to  Yakutsk  with  the  whole  party  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  there  await  his  arrival ;  but  he  told  me  verbally  at  Ku- 
mak  Surka  Serai  to  leave  Bartlett  at  Bulun. 

As  transportation  further  south  could  be  provided  for  only 
six  of  the  party,  I  took  the  five  weakest  men  and  started  for 
Verkhoyansk,  leaving  the  other  six  to  follow  when  Melville 
should  return.  I  left  written  orders  with  Bartlett  to  start  a 
search  party  out  for  Melville  in  case  he  did  not  return  by 
November  20th.  The  resources  of  Bulun  were  very  limited, 
it  being  only  a  village  of  about  twenty  houses ;  and  our  pre- 
sence there  made  fearful  inroads  on  their  winter  stock.  We 
traveled  by  deer  sled  to  Verkhoyansk,  a  distance  of  900  versts. 
Thence  to  Yakutsk  by  means  of  deer,  oxen,  and  horses,  a 
distance  of  960  versts,  reaching  the  latter  place  December 
17th,  1881,  where  we  were  well  taken  care  of  by  General 
Tchernieff,  the  governor.  About  December  30th,  Melville 
arrived  at  Yakutsk,  and  soon  afterward  the  other  six  men 
came  on.  On  New  Year's  day  the  thirteen  survivors  of  the 
Jeannette  were  all  present  at  Yakutsk.  The  most  of  us 


260  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

were  in  good  condition,  but  my  left  eye  was  completely  dis- 
abled, and  the  right  one  was  suffering  by  sympathy.  One 
man  was  insane  and  had  to  be  kept  under  restraint,  and 
Leach  was  disabled  slightly  with  frozen  feet. 

Melville  started  north  from  Yakutsk  January  27th,  taking 
with  him  Bartlett  and  Nindermann — Nindermann  because 
he  was  one  of  the  men  who  had  last  seen  the  captain,  and 
Bartlett  because  he  had  picked  up  a  little  Russian  and  could 
get  along  first  rate  with  the  natives.  Most  of  the  men  would 
have  been  worse  than  useless,  because  they  could  not  have 
made  themselves  understood,  and  would  have  had  to  be 
waited  on  by  the  natives. 

At  Yakutsk,  Melville  received  the  first  despatch  from  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  which  ordered  him  to  send  the  sick 
and  frozen  to  a  milder  climate.  So  he  ordered  me  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  whole  party  to  Irkutsk,  and  thence  to  the  At- 
lantic seaboard.  At  Irkutsk  I  received  despatches  from  the 
department  ordering  me  to  remain  and  continue  the  search, 
but  I  was  quite  unable  to  do  so.  After  the  long  excitement  of 
our  life  in  the  north  my  eyes  began  to  trouble  me  more  and 
more,  and  having  got  cold  in  them  during  the  sledge  journey 
from  Yakutsk  to  Irkutsk,  I  was  compelled  to  seek  profes- 
sional advice.  The  two  oculists  whom  I  consulted  told  me 
that  my  left  eye  was  ruined,  and  should  be  taken  out  to  pre- 
vent the  right  one  from  being  constantly  affected ;  that  I 
should  not  read  or  write,  and  should  not  leave  here  until  the 
right  eye  was  in  a  better  condition.  The  reports  of  the  ocu- 
lists about  my  right  eye  were  at  first  very  encouraging,  and 
that  was  why  I  proposed  to  the  department  to  charter  the 
steamer  Lena,  in  order  to  make  a  spring  search  for  Chipp. 
I  also  asked  for  two  officers  to  be  sent  to  assist,  thinking 
that  if  my  right  eye  broke  down  there  would  then  be  some- 
body here  to  take  my  place. 

Melville  told  me  every  detail  of  his  trip  of  twenty-three 
days  from  Bulun.  He  says  he  has  traced  the  captain's  party 
as  far  as  a  summer  hunting  station  called  Sisteranek,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Lena,  and  that  the  party  must  be  some- 


NO    REASONABLE    HOPE.  261 

where  between  that  station  and  Bulcour,  neither  of  which 
places  is  marked  on  the  ordinary  map.  They  had  been  two 
days  without  food  when  Noros  and  Nindermann  left  them, 
and  the  region  is  devoid  of  game  and  inhabitants.  The 
men  had  insufficient  clothing,  and  there  is  no  reasonable 
hope. 

I  think  Chipp's  boat  swamped  during  the  gale,  for  she 
nearly  did  so  on  a  previous  occasion,  and  was  a  very  bad  sea 
boat.  If  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  coast  he  had  less  food 
than  the  other  boats,  and  his  chances  of  life  were  therefore 
worse  than  the  captain's  party.  If  his  boat  swamped  she 
would  probably  come  to  the  surface,  after  the  bodies  floated 
out ;  she  had  not  sufficient  weight  in  her  to  keep  her  down. 
The  specific  gravity  of  pemmican  is  nearly  that  of  water, 
and  we  found  that  some  of  the  canisters,  which  proba.bly 
contained  air  space,  would  actually  float.  The  sleeping  bags, 
when  water  soaked,  would  be  the  heaviest  weight  in  the  boat, 
and  these  were  probably  thrown  overboard  in  the  gale.  The 
northeast  winds  continued  two  days  after  the  gale,  and 
Chipp's  boat  may  have  drifted  ashore  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Olenek,  if  not  carried  to  the  northeast  as  the  driftwood  seems 
to  be — that  is,  to  the  New  Siberian  Islands." 

16 


CHAPTER  XXL 

LIEUTENANT  DE  LONG'S  LOG-BOOK. 

DURING  the  time  when  Lieutenant  Danenhower  was 
relieved  from  duty  as  navigator  of  the  Jeannette,  on 
account  of  his  eyes,  the  log  of  the  ship  was  kept  by  the 
commander  of  the  expedition.  Lieutenant  DeLong  always 
made  his  entries  with  two  dates,  that  is,  he  did  not  advance 
one  day  on  crossing  the  180th  meridian  to  east  longitude, 
because  he  expected  to  drift  back  again  to  west  longitude,  as 
he  had  often  done  before.  He  always  clung  to  the  idea  that 
he  would  experience  a  northeast  drift,  sooner  or  later,  and 
re-cross  that,  meridian. 

The  log-books  of  the  Jeannette  were  taken  to  the  Siberian 
coast  by  Lieutenant  DeLong,  and  were  left,  with  other 
articles,  near  the  beach  when  he  started  south,  September 
19th.  They  were  recovered  by  Mr.  Melville,  November  14th, 
and  Lieutenant  Danenhower  brought  them  home.  The  fol- 
lowing are  extracts  from  the  log-book,  kept  by  Lieutenant 
DeLong,  commencing  with  the  discovery  of  Jeannette  Island, 
and  continuing  to  the  end ;  the  last  entry,  Saturday,  June 
llth,  was  made  with  a  lead  pencil : — 

LOG   OP  THE   UNITED   STATES    ARCTIC    STEAMER    JEANNETTE,   BE- 
SET  AND    DRIFTING   IN    THE   PACK-ICE   ABOUT    FIVE 
HUNDRED   MILES   NORTH-WEST   OF   HERALD 
ISLAND,   ARCTIC   OCEAN. 

TUESDAY,  May  17,  1881. — Latitude  by  observation  at 
noon,  north  76  deg.  43  min.  20  sec. ;  longitude  by  chronom- 
eter from  afternoon  observations,  east  161  deg.  53  min.  45 
sec. ;  sounded  in  forty-three  fathoms ;  muddy  bottom ;  a 

(262) 


DE  LONG'3   LOG-BOOK.  263 


slight  drift  northwest  being  indicated  by  the  lead  line; 
weather  dull  and  gloomy  in  the  forenoon  ;  close,  bright  and 
pleasant  in  the  afternoon.  At  seven  P.  M.  land  was  sighted 
from  aloft  by  William  Dunbar,  ice-pilot,  and  bearing  south 
78  deg.  45  min.  west  (magnetic)  or  north  83  deg.  15  min. 
west  true.  It  appears  to  be  an  island,  and  such  portion  of  it 
as  is  visible  is  of  this  shape  :  — 


gel- 


=8.  78°  45'  W.  (mag.) 

But  owing  to  fog  hanging  partly  over  it  and  partly  to  the 
northward  of  it  no  certainty  is  felt  that  this  is  all  of  it.  It 
is  also  visible  from  the  deck,  but  no  estimate  can  be  made  of 
its  distance. 

As  no  such  land  is  laid  down  upon  any  chart  in  our  pos- 
session, belief  that  we  have  made  a  discovery  is  permissible. 

This  is  the  first  land  of  any  kind  seen  by  the  ship  since 
March  24th,  1880,  at  which  date  we  saw  for  the  last  time  the 
north  side  of  "  Wrangel  Land." 

WEDNESDAY,  May  18,  1881.— Latitude  north  76  deg.  43 
min.  38  sec.,  longitude  east  161  deg.  42  min.  30  sec. 

The  land  sighted  yesterday  remains  visible  all  day,  but 
with  greater  clearness.  We  are  now  able  to  determine 
its  shape  with  greater  exactness,  and  it  is  as  below,  roughly 
sketched : — 


Sd..  -NO. 

=8.  78°  45'  W.  (mag.) 

The  clouds  of  yesterday,  or  fog-bank  as  then  called,  hav- 
ing disappeared  from  the  upper  part  of  the  island,  we  are 
able  to  see  apparent  rocky  cliffs  with  a  snow-covered  slope 
extending  back  to  the  westward  from  them  and  terminating 
in  a  conical  mass  like  a  volcano-top. 


264  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

THURSDAY,  May  19,  1881.— Latitude  76  deg.  44  min.  50 
»ec.  north,  longitude  161  deg.  30  min.  45  sec.  east. 

Crew  engaged  in  digging  down  through  the  ice  on  the  port 
side  of  the  stem  in  an  effort  to  reach  the  forefoot.  The  ice 
was  first  bored  to  a  depth  of  ten  feet  two  inches  without 
getting  to  the  bottom  of  it ;  next  a  hole  was  dug  four  feet  in 
depth  and  from  the  bottom  of  this  hole  a  drilling  was  made 
to  a  depth  of  ten  feet  two  inches ;  still  not  reaching  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ice  at  fourteen  feet  two  inches ;  but  water  now 
came  oozing  in  to  fill  up  the  space  dug,  and  further  effort 
was  not  made.  It  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  thickness  is  of 
more  than  one  floe,  and  that  the  water  flows  in  between  the 
blocks  as  they  lie  one  above  the  other. 

An  opening  occurred  in  the  ice  about  five  hundred  yards 
to  the  eastward  of  the  ship  and  partially  closed  at  ten  P.  M., 
the  ship  receiving  several  slight  shocks  as  the  edges  of  the 
ice  came  together. 

The  island  remains  in  plain  view  all  day,  and  at  times, 
after  six  P.  M.,  a  very  strong  appearance  of  higher  land  be- 
yond and  to  the  westward  is  seen,  seemingly  connected  by  a 
snowy  slope  witli  what  we  have  called  an  island. 

FRIDAY,  May  20. — The  island  remains  in  plain  view  all 
day,  though  nothing  can  be  seen  of  the  high  land  beyond, 
the  strong  appearance  of  which  is  noted  in  yesterday's  log. 

The  center  of  the  island  now  bears  west  (true),  but  as  no 
observations  could  be  obtained  to-day  its  position  and  dis- 
tance cannot  be  determined  by  the  change  of  bearing. 

SATURDAY,  May  21. — Latitude  north  76  deg.  52  min.  22 
sec.,  longitude  east  161  deg.  7  min.  45  sec.  The  point  of  the 
island  which  on  the  16th  inst.  bore  north  83  deg.  15  min. 
west  (true)  to-day  bears  south  78  deg.  30  min.  west  (true), 
from  which  change  of  bearing  it  is  computed  that  the  island 
is  now  twenty-four  and  three-fifths  miles  distant.  The  posi- 
tion of  the  observed  point  is  therefore  latitude  76  deg.  47 
min.  28  sec.  north,  longitude  159  deg.  20 -min.  45  sec. 

From  measurement  made  by  a  sextant  it  is  found  that  the 
island  as  seen  to-day  subtends  an  angle  of  2  deg.  10  min. 


DB  LONG'S  LOG-BOOK  266 

WEDNESDAY,  May  25. — Latitude  north  77  deg.  16  min.  I 
sec.,  longitude  east  159  deg.  33  min.  30  sec. 

At  eight  A.  M.  the  ice  was  found  to  have  opened  in  numer- 
ous long  lanes,  some  connected  and  some  single,  extending 
generally  in  north-northwest  and  south-southeast  direction. 
]>y  making  occasional  portages  boats  were  able  to  go  several 
miles  from  the  vessel,  but  for  the  ship  herself  there  were  no 
ice-openings  of  sufficient  magnitude. 

The  strong  appearance  of  land  mentioned  on  the  19th  inst 
proves  to  have  been  land  in  fact,  and  for  reasons  similar  to 
those  herein  set  forth  (in  the  remarks  of  the  17th  inst.)  it 
may  be  recorded  as  another  discovery.  The  second  land  is 
an  island  of  which  the  position  and  present  distance  are  yet 
to  be  determined.  The  following  bearings  were  taken  : — 

Ship's  head,  S.  14  deg.  W.  (true). 

Eastern  end  of  island  first  seen  on  17th,  S.  17  deg.  W. 
(true). 

Nearest  end  of  island  seen  to-day,  S.  69  deg.  30  min.  W. 
(true). 

The  following  sextant  angles  were  taken  from  the  crow's- 
nest  : — 

Island  first  seen  subtends  an  angle  of  2  deg.  42  min. 

Island  first  seen  has  an  altitude  of  0  deg.  16  min. 

Island  seen  to-day  subtends  an  angle  of  3  deg.  35  min. 

Island  seen  to-day  has  an  altitude  of  0  deg.  10  min. 

Interval  between  two  islands,  49  deg.  55  min. 

TUESDAY,  May  31. — No  observations.  Crew  engaged  in 
digging  a  trench  round  the  vessel,  and  after  four  p.  M.  in 
getting  up  provisions,  etc.,  in  readiness  for  a  sledge  party 
directed  to  leave  the  ship  to-morrow  morning. 

WEDNESDAY,  June  1. — No  observations.  At  nine  A.  M.  a 
party  consisting  of  Passed  Assistant  Engineer  G.  W.  Mel- 
ville, Mr.  William  Dunbar,  W.  F.  C.  Nindcrmann  (seaman). 
H.  H.  Erickson  (seaman),  J.  H.  Bartlett  (first  class  fire- 
man), and  Walter  Sharvell  (coal-heaver),  started  to  make 
an  attempt  to  land  upon  the  island  discovered  by  us  on  the 
25th  ult.  and  which  bears  southwest  half-west  (true)  at  an 


266  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

estimated  distance  of  twelve  miles.  They  carried  with  them 
the  light  dingy,  secured  upon  a  sled  drawn  by  fifteen  dogs, 
and  provisions  for  seven  days,  besides  knapsacks  and  sleep- 
ing-bags and  arms. 

All  hands  assembled  on  the  ice  to  witness  the  departure, 
and  cheers  were  exchanged  as  the  sled  moved  off.  At  six 
p.  M.  the  traveling  party  could  be  seen  from  aloft  at  about 
five  miles  distant  from  the  ship. 

THURSDAY,  June  2. — Latitude  77  deg.  16  min.  25  sec. 
north.  During  the  forenoon  the  traveling  party  was  in 
sight  from  aloft,  seemingly  more  than  half  way  to  the  island. 

SATURDAY,  June  4. — Latitude  77  deg.  12  min.  55  sec. 
north,  longitude  158  deg.  11  min.  45  sec.  east.  From  the 
cracked  appearance  of  the  ice  around  the  stern  it  would 
seem  that  the  ship  is  endeavoring  to  rise  from  her  ice  dock. 
To  facilitate  her  rising  and  to  relieve  the  strain  upon  the 
keel  under  the  propeller  the  men  were  engaged  forenoon  and 
afternoon  in  digging  away  the  ice  under  the  counters  and  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  propeller  well.  The  said  ice  is  of 
flinty  hardness  and  clings  so  closely  to  the  ship  as  to  show 
the  grain  of  the  wood  and  to  tear  out  the  oakum,  visible 
where  the  ship's  rising  has  left  open  spaces. 

Bearings  of  the  island  toward  which  the  traveling  party 
was  sent :  South  end  S.  52  deg.  W.  (true).  North  end  S. 
61  deg.  W.  (true). 

SUNDAY,  June  5. — No  observations.  At  eleven  A.  M.  start- 
ed a  fire  on  the  ice  ahead  of  the  ship,  adding  tar  and  oakum 
to  make  a  black  smoke  as  a  signal  of  our  location  to  the  ab- 
sent traveling  party.  At  four  P.  M.,  the  weather  being 
foggy,  fired  a  charge  from  the  brass  gun  and  one  from  a 
whale-gun  as  a  similar  signal.  Carpenters  pushed  repairs 
to  steam  cutter. 

MONDAY,  June  6. — No  observations.  At  ten  A.  M.  called 
all  hands  to  muster  and  read  the  act  for  the  government  of 
the  navy.  The  commanding  officer  then  inspected  the  ship. 
At  1.30  P.  M.  divine  service  was  read  in  the  cabin.  At  six 
A.  M.  sighted  the  traveling  party  making  their  way  back  to 


DE  LONG'S  LOG-HOOK.  267 

the  ship ;  sent  the  starboard  watch  out  to  assist  them  in. 
At  nine  A.  M.  the  sled  arrived  alongside,  drawn  by  the  dogs 
and  accompanied  by  Nindermann,  Erickson,  and  Bartlett. 
Mr.  William  Dunbar,  ice-pilot,  was  brought  in  by  this  party, 
having  been  disabled  by  snow-blindness.  At  twenty  minutes 
of  ten  A.  M.  Engineer  Melville  and  Walter  Sharvell,  coal- 
heaver,  with  all  remaining  traveling  gear,  arrived  on  board. 

The  party  landed  on  the  island  at  half-past  five  P.  M.  on 
Friday,  June  3d,  hoisted  our  national  ensign  and  took  posses- 
sion of  our  discoveries  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  of 
America. 

The  island  discovered  on  May  17th  has  been  named  and 
will  hereafter  be  known  as  Jeannette  Island.  It  is  situated 
in  latitude  76  deg.  47  min.  north  and  longitude  158  deg.  56 
min.  east. 

The  island  discovered  on  May  25th  and  landed  upon  as 
above  stated  has  been  named  and  will  hereafter  be  known  as 
Henrietta  Island.  It  is  situated  in  latitude  77  deg.  8  min. 
north  and  longitude  157  deg.  43  min.  east. 

TUESDAY,  June  7, 1881. — Latitude  77  deg.  11  min.  10  sec. 
north  ;  longitude,  no  observations. 

In  anticipation  of  our  floe  breaking  up  and  our  being 
launched  into  the  confusion  raging  about  us,  hoisted  the 
steam  cutter,  brought  aboard  the  kayaks  and  oomiaks,  and 
removed  from  the  ke  such  of  our  belongings  as  could  not  be 
secured  at  a  few  moments'  notice. 

WEDNESDAY,  June  8. — No  observations.  So  thick  was  the 
fog  until  10  A.  M.  that  our  position  with  reference  to  Hen- 
rietta Island  could  not  be  determined,  but  at  that  hour  the 
fog  cleared  away,  and  the  island  was  sighted  right  ahead 
and  at  a  distance  of  about  four  miles.  As  indicated  yester- 
day, we  were  being  drifted  across  the  north  face. 

The  large  openings  near  us  have  closed,  and  the  general 
appearance  of  the  ice  to  west  and  northwest  is  that  of  an 
immense  field  broken  up  in  many  places  by  the  large  piles  of 
broken  floe-pieces,  but  with  no  water  spaces. 

Considerable  water-sky  is  visible  to  the  south  and  south- 


268  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

west,  and  several  unconnected  lanes  of  water  are  to  be  seen 
in  those  directions.  The  ice,  having  passed  the  obstruction 
caused  by  Henrietta  Island,  has  closed  up  again  and  resumed 
its  accustomed  drift  to  the  northwest. 

FRIDAY,  June  10.— Latitude  N.  77  deg.  14  min.  20  sec.f 
longitude  E.  156  deg.  7  min.  30  sec. 

The  following  bearings  were  taken  of  Henrietta  Island  at 
twenty  minutes  past  five  P.  M. : 

Ship's  head  S.  13  30  W.  true. 

S.  W.  point  of  island  S.  59  24  E. 

Second  cliff  S.  64  30  E. 

Blackhead  S.  66  30  E. 

At  eleven  P.  M.  the  ship  received  several  severe  jars.  At 
half-past  eleven  the  ice,  eighty  yards  to  the  westward,  opened 
to  a  width  of  ten  feet,  and  after  several  shocks  from  the  ice, 
the  ship  was  found  to  have  risen  an  inch  forward.  At  mid- 
night there  was  considerable  motion  to  our  surrounding  floe, 
and  strong  indications  of  a  breaking  up  of  the  ice  alongside 
the  ship. 

SATURDAY,  June  11. — Latitude  77  deg.  13  min.  45  sec. 
north,  longitude  155  deg.  46  min.  30  sec.  east. 

At  ten  minutes  past  12  A.  M.  the  ice  suddenly  opened 
alongside  and  the  ship  righted  to  an  even  keel.  Called  all 
hands  at  once  and  brought  on  the  few  remaining  things  on 
the  ice.  The  ship  settled  down  to  her  proper  bearings  near- 
ly, the  draught  being  8  feet  11  inches  forward  and  12  feet  5 
inches  aft.  A  large  block  of  ice  could  be  seen  remaining 
under  the  keel.  At  the  first  alarm  the  gate  in  the  water- 
tight bulkhead  forward  was  closed,  but  the  amount  of  water 
coming  into  the  ship  was  found  to  decrease — a  small  stream 
trickling  aft  being  all  that  could  be  seen. 

There  being  many  large  spaces  of  water  near  us,  and  the 
ice  having  a  generally  broken-up  appearance,  it  was  con- 
cluded to  ship  the  rudder  to  be  ready  for  an  emergency  in- 
volving the  moving  of  the  ship.  After  some  trouble  in  re- 
moving accumulations  of  ice  around  the  gudgeons,  the 


DB  LONG'S  LOG-BOOK.  269 

rudder  was  shipped,  and  everything  cleared  away  for  mak- 
ing sail.          t 

As  well  as  could  be  judged  by  looking  down  through  the 
water  under  the  counters  there  was  no  injury  whatever  to 
the  afterbody  of  the  ship.  As  soon  as  possible  a  bow  line 
and  a  quarter  line  had  been  got  out  and  the  ship  secured 
temporarily  to  the  ice,  which  remained  on  the  starboard  side, 
as  nearly  in  the  same  berth  as  she  could  be  placed.  By 
looking  down  through  the  water  alongside  the  stern  on  the 
port  side  one  of  the  iron  straps  near  her  forefoot  was  seen  to 
be  sprung  off,  but  otherwise  no  damage  could  be  detected. 
It  was  assumed  by  me  that  the  heavy  ice,  which  all  along 
bore  heavily  against  the  stern,  had  held  the  plank  ends  open 
on  the  garboards,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  ship  was  able  to 
move  from  this  heavy  ice  the  wood  ends  came  together 
again,  closing  much  of  the  opening  and  reducing  the  leak. 
The  water  line  or  rather  water  level  being  below  the  berth 
deck,  no  difficulty  was  anticipated  in  keeping  the  ship  afloat 
and  navigating  her  to  some  port  should  she  ever  be  liberated 
from  the  pack-ice  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

Sounded  in  thirty-three  fathoms,  bottom  mud,  rapid  drift 
to  north-northwest. 

GEORGE  W.  BELONG, 
Lieutenant  United  States  Navy,  Commanding. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

A  ROLL  OF  HONOR. 

"TTERKHOYANSK,  situated  on  the  Yana  River,  eastward 
V  from  the  Lena,  is  the  name  of  one  of  the  villages 
which  the  men  of  the  Jeannette  passed  through  on  their 
circuitous  journey  from  Bulun  to  Yakutsk,  and  it  is  also  the 
name  of  one  of  the  districts  into  which  the  province  of 
Yakutsk  is  divided.  The  following  are  extracts  from  a 
translation  of  the  report  made  by  the  Ispravnik  (chief  man) 
of  this  district  to  the  Governor  of  Yakutsk,  respecting  the 
arrival  and  reception  of  the  strangers  : — 

"  By  searching  for  the  strangers  all  the  natives  have  done 
all  they  had  in  their  power  to  do.  Mr.  Ipatieff  (aid  to  the 
ispravnik)  knew  about  the  natives,  and  which  of  them  had 
done  more  than  the  others.  Those  who  did  the  most  were 
named  respectively  as  follows : — The  overlooker  from  Gigan- 
sky  Uluf,  Gregory  Baishoff,  who  took  the  found  strangers  to 
Bulun,  showing  them  the  way  and  giving  them  all  necessary 
provisions ;  and  Ipatieff  had  heard  from  the  strangers  how 
much  Gregory  Baishoff  had  done  for  them.  Candidate  Con- 
stantino Mohoploff  was  the  man  who  took  the  two  saved 
sailors  to  Bulun  from  Bulcour,  and  accompanied  Mr.  Mel- 
ville on  all  his  searching  to  find  the  missing  members  of  the 
expedition  and  helped  Mr.  Melville  very  much.  Then  the 
overlooker  from  Ywo  Katurlinsky  Nasleg,  Wassili  Bobrow- 
sky,  who  brought  the  eleven  strangers  who  were  on  Cape 
Borkai  to  the  Cape  Bykoffsky,  and  who  gave  them  fresh  pro- 
visions to  the  people  from  his  own  stores..  He  guided  Mr. 
Melville  to  Simatsky  Nasleg,  on  the  Lena,  through  the  wild- 
erness. Then  the  two  exiles,  one  of  them  Kusmah  Eremoff , 
from  Gigansky  Uluf,  and  Efim  Kopiloff,  from  Ust-Lena. 

(270) 


THE  ISPRAVNIK'S  REPORT.  271 

These  two  people  were  the  first  to  bring  all  necessary  assist- 
ance to  the  saved  strangers.  Eremoff  volunteered  to  drive 
to  Bulun  to  give  news  about  the  found  people. 

The  man  Nicolai  Diakonoff,  in  whose  hut,  on  Cape  Byk- 
offsky,  the  strangers  were  living,  gave  the  people  bad  fish 
and  rotten  geese.  Then  he  did  not  go  to  Bulun  as  soon  as 
Mr.  Melville  told  him  to  go.  Through  a  person  who  knows 
the  English  language  has  Mr.  Melville  told  the  ispravnik 
about  those  people  who  showed  the  most  hospitality  to  him 
and  his  sailors.  The  first,  Kusmah  Eremoff.  He  gave  to  Mr. 
Melville  all  the  provisions  in  his  poor  house.  He  went  with- 
out assistance  to  Bulun  to  give  information  where  Mr.  Mel- 
ville and  the  saved  people  were  living,  and  that  they  could 
not  come  further  because  they  were  so  weak. 

Another  man,  Wassili  Bobrowsky,  has  served  Mr.  Melville 
as  pilot  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  to  the  habitation  of 
Nicolai  Diakonoff,  and  has  done  all,  refusing  to  take  any- 
thing for  his  assistance.  More  than  that,  he  gave  to  Mr. 
Melville  and  his  sailors,  fishes,  sleds  and  dogs,  and  was  very 
careful  to  keep  Mr.  Melville  well  and  to  save  him.  The 
third  man,  Efim  Kopiloff,  gave  all  that  was  necessary  with- 
out requiring  pay  for  it,  and  as  soon  as  all  the  fishes  were 
eaten  he  gave  his  geese,  whereby  he  was  running  the  risk  of 
hunger  himself  in  the  spring  time. 

The  two  Yakuts  who  found  Nindermann  and  Noros  have 
to  be  rewarded  too.  Nindermann  and  Noros  would  have 
been  dead  from  hunger  if  Ivan  Androsoff  and  Constantine 
Mohoploff  had  not  found  them  Constantine  Mohoploff  was 
all  the  time  with  Mr.  Melville,  giving'  him  provisions.  Mr. 
Melville  said  that  without  his  assistance  he  could  not  have 
made  the  journey  from  Bulun  in  twenty-three  days  when 
searching  for  the  people.  Nicolai  Diakonoff  ought  not  to  be 
rewarded,  because  he  did  not  give  the  help  which  he  could 
have  done.  Of  the  overlooker  from  Gigansky  Uluf,  Baishoff, 
Mr.  Melville  says  he  cannot  reward  him  enough,  and  wanted 
to  speak  himself  about  him  to  the  general. 

I  have  the  honor  to  explain  all  that  I  have  written  above 


272  THE   JEANNETTB    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

to  Your  Excellency,  as  well  as  I  have  to  inform  you  about 
five  hundred  (500)  roubles  expended  in  provisions  and 
clothes  for  the  thirteen  (13)  saved  strangers,  and  will  send 
to  you  afterward  a  special  account  about  this.  From  the 
missing  people  we  as  yet  have  not  any  news ;  but  I  have 
ordered  all  the  inhabitants  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  find 
all  they  can,  if  only  the  bodies.  If  they  iind  the  bodies  they 
have  to  be  careful  to  do  all  they  can  to  keep  them,  and  also 
anything  belonging  to  the  strangers." 

A  copy  of  the  ispravnik's  report  having  been  sent  to  Lieut- 
enant Danenhower  by  General  Pedoshenko  for  examination, 
he  returned  it  with  a  communication  in  part  as  follows  :— 

"  As  you  have  invited  my  attention  to  this  report  and  have 
requested  my  opinion  relative  to  the  merits  of  the  people  who 
helped  us,  I  would  respectfully  submit  the  following  state- 
ments : — 

First — The  man  named  Wassili  Bobrowsky  rendered  the 
most  important  services.  He  is  known  among  the  natives 
and  by  me  as  Wassili  Koolgiak,  which  means  Cut-eared 
Wassili.  This  man  may  be  identified  by  a  gunshot  wound 
near  the  left  elbow.  The  moment  we  met  him  we  felt  safe, 
for  he  gave  us  food  and  immediately  consented  to  pilot  us 
to  Bulun,  at  the  same  time  measuring  how  much  water  the 
boat  required,  and  thereby  showing  that  he  knew  what  he 
was  about.  He  took  us  to  Nicolai  Diakonoff,  whom  we  un- 
understood  to  be  his  superior.  At  a  subsequent  time  lie 
brought  us  fish  and  took  me  on  a  journey  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river  in  search  of  the  two  missing  boats,  and  also  took 
Mr.  Melville  on  his  journey  to  Bulun.  He  was  always  kind 
and  good  to  us,  and  it  is  not  only  my  opinion  but  also  that 
of  the  others  that  we  owe  more  gratitude  to  him  than  to 
any  one  else. 

Second — The  exile  Kusmah  Eremoff  I  will  recommend 
as  second  in  the  order  of  merit.  He  found  us  accidentally 
and  agreed  to  take  me  to  his  house,  where  he  gave  me  more 
than  one-half  of  his  small  stock  of  provisions  and  volun- 
teered to  carry  me  to  Bulun  on  the  following  Sunday.  1 


THE   GENEROUS    EXILE.  276 

told  him  to  come  over  to  us  in  three  days  to  consult  with 
Mr.  Melville.  He  came,  and  Mr.  Melville  decided  that  Ku&- 
niah  should  go  without  me.  He  went  to  Bulun,  and  on  his 
way  back  he  met,  at  Kumak  Surka,  the  two  sailors  from  the 
captain's  party,  and  brought  us  the  first  intelligence  of 
them.  Before  his  first  visit  the  natives  gave  us  scarcely 
enough  food,  being  only  eight  fish  per  day  and  some  decayed 
geese.  He  gave  us  salt,  flour,  tobacco  in  small  quantities, 
and  also  bought  a  deer,  which  he  gave  me  on  my  first  visit 
to  carry  back  to  the  men.  He  threatened  the  natives,  and 
made  them  bring  us  more  fish  than  we  could  eat.  He  lived 
only  ten  versts  from  us,  and  said  that  Nicolai  Diakonoff 
should  have  informed  him  of  our  presence,  and  he  could 
have  taken  us  to  Bulun  before  the  river  froze  over.  Kusmah 
Eremoff  acted  boldly  and  well.  He  is  more  or  less  depend- 
ent on  the  natives,  but  was  not  afraid  to  threaten  them,  by 
which  he  made  them  give  us  enough  food. 

Third — I  will  call  attention  to  the  prompt  and  intelligent 
action  of  the  Commandant,  Gregory  Mikatereff  Baishoff,  at 
Bulun.  He  sent  word  by  Kusmah  that  he  would  come  to  us 
on  a  certain  day.  He  arrived  at  the  fixed  time  and  with  an 
ample  supply  of  provisions.  He  brought  with  him  a  long 
document  that  had  been  addressed  by  the  two  sailors  of  the 
captain's  party  to  the  American  Minister  at  St.  Petersburg. 
The  two  sailors  could  not  make  themselves  understood,  so 
the  commandant  brought  the  paper  to  us.  I  immediately 
despatched  it  by  courier  to  Mr.  Melville,  who  was  then  on 
his  way  to  Bulun.  He  going  by  the  dog  road  had  missed 
seeing  the  commandant,  who  came  by  the  deer  road.  The 
latter  had  the  foresight  to  send  by  the  same  courier  a  written 
order  to  his  subordinate  to  equip  Mr.  Melville,  and  also  ap- 
pointed Kumak  Surka  as  a  rendezvous. 

At  all  subsequent  times  the  commandant  of  Bulun  pro- 
vided for  us  in  a  very  practical  and  efficient  manner,  and  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  he  is  the  most  intelligent  and 
best  balanced  man  that  I  met  north  of  Yakutsk.  His  posi- 
tion being  a  very  subordinate  one,  it  required  great  force  of 


276  THE   JEANNETTB    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

character  and  good  judgment  in  controlling  the  natives 
and  getting  from  them  everything  that  we  needed  without 
an  equivalent.  His  task  was  a  difficult  one,  and  he  did 
admirably. 

Fourth— The  two  men,  Ivan  Androsoff  and  Constantino 
Mohoploff,  are  deserving  of  high  reward  for  the  rescue  of 
the  two  sailors  at  Bulcour. 

Fifth — The  exile,  Efim  Kopiloff,  lived  in  our  house 
and  rendered  us  important  services.  Before  I  left  the  vil- 
lage I  had  him  and  all  the  natives  render  their  accounts  of 
all  food  furnished.  Efim  was  a  very  good  man,  and  we,  one 
and  all,  would  be  very  glad  to  see -him  rewarded. 

Sixth — In  regard  to  the  three  fishermen  whom  we  first  met, 
I  would  state  that  they  attempted  to  run  away  because  they 
were  afraid  of  us.  We  induced  the  youth,  whom  we  called 
Tomat,  to  approach,  offered  him  something  to  eat,  and  then 
the  other  two  approached.  They  gave  us  a  goose  and  one 
fish — all  they  had  at  the  time.  They  took  us  to  a  hut,  where 
we  passed  the  night.  The  next  morning  they  would  riot  go 
with  us,  but  seemed  very  much  agitated  and  sorry  to  have  us 
go  alone.  We  could  not  understand  them  at  the  time,  but 
afterward  learned  they  had  sent  for  old  Wassili  and  wanted 
us  to  wait.  These  three  fishermen,  as  well  as  the  assistants 
of  Ivan  Androsoff,  in  my  opinion,  should  be  suitably  rewarded 
through  their  chiefs. 

In  conclusion  I  would  respectfully  state  that  we  received 
good  treatment  from  the  authorities  at  Verkhoyansk,  and 
that  we  are  especially  indebted  to  Governor-General  G.  Tcher- 
nieff  for  the  kind  and  fatherly  treatment  we  received  at  his 
hands.  The  moment  he  was  informed  of  our  presence  in 
Siberia  he  adopted  the  most  prompt  and  efficient  means  of 
relief,  and  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  we  all  regard  him  as  our 
best  friend  in  Siberia." 

The  whale-boat  which  carried  Melville's  party  safely  to  the 
Delta,  was  subsequently  given  to  the  generous  exile,  Kusmah 
Eremoff,  for  services  rendered. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

MR  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 

AFTER  the  final  arrangements  were  completed,  our  voy- 
age to  the  frozen  North  was  commenced  on  Tuesday, 
July  8th,  on  which  day,  at  ten  minutes  past  four  o'clock  P.M., 
the  Jeannette  slowly  steamed  away  from  San  Francisco. 
The  harbor  was  lively  with  yachts,  tugs,  and  other  craft, 
many  of  which  accompanied  us  to  the  "  Gate."  The  high 
parts  of  the  city  were  thick  with  interested  spectators.  The 
fort  at  the  "•  Gate,"  made  so  golden  by  the  beautiful  sun, 
saluted  us  as  we  passed.  Soon  the  captain's  wife  bade  us 
good-bye,  and  the  yacht  Frolic  left  us  amid  cheers,  and  we 
stood  out  into  the  broad  Pacific. 

Our  voyage  was  without  interest  until  Hearing  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands.  Ougalgan  Island  was  the  first  to  strike  my 
attention.  Strange,  wild,  grand  scenery  burst  upon  our  gaze 
as  the  fog  lifted  on  the  afternoon  of  the  1st  of  August.  We 
were  at  anchor,  and  the  boat  was  sent  ashore  to  look  over 
the  island.  I  was  the  first  man  to  land,  and  as  I  jumped  on 
the  rocky  beach  between  the  jagged  headlands  a  scene  of 
indescribable  beauty  surrounded  me.  Thousands  of  birds 
were  in  the  air  and  screaming  discordantly,  for  I  was  invad- 
ing their  nesting-place :  glaucous-winged  gulls,  tufted  and 
Arctic  puffins,  guillemots,  auks  and  murres. 

I  can  never  forget  the  scene.  On  the  right  arose  great 
mountains,  clad  with  snow  ;  on  the  left  another  mountain,  a 
volcano,  was  seen,  from  the  top  of  which  a  thin  stream  of 
blue  smoke  was  slowly  curling.  Not  a  vestige  of  life  save 
the  birds  and  myself.  A  great  upheaval  of  nature  marked 
these  Aleutian  Islands.  Central  Pacific  Railroad  scenery 


273 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


is  nowhere,  for  these  islands  combine  the  picturesqueness  of 
the  Alleghanies  with  the  vastness  of  the  Sierra  Nevadaa 
The  islands  generally  are  delightfully  green.  Flowers  are 
found  in  many  varieties.  One  little  kind  was  much  like  my 
own  New  England  buttercup  of  the  meadows  dear  at  homa 
To  the  naturalist  this  is  a  great  field. 


GLAUCOUS- WINGED  GULLS. 

We  made  Ounalaska  on  the  2d  of  August ;  a  lovely  local- 
ity, with  much  of  interest.  We  soon  left,  and  after  a  short 
trip  reached  St.  Michael's,  Alaska.  Here  we  got  our  dogs 
and  skin  clothes  and  two  Indians.  Leaving  here,  we  stood 
across  Bering  Sea  for  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  Siberia.  Many 
birds  here ;  among  them  the  lovely  Aleutian  tern  and  Sabinea 
gull — both  rare. 

From  this  place  we  started  on  the  evening  of  August  27th 
for  the  North,  and  entering  the  Arctic  Ocean  on  the  29th, 
we  anchored  at  five  P.  M.  off  Serdze  Kamen.  The  captain, 


OFF   HERALD   ISLAND.  279 

with  Chipp,  Collins  and  D unbar,  took  a  boat  for  the  shore, 
but  pack-ice  prevented  their  landing. 

On  the  31st,  at  Kolyutschin  Bay,  Mr.  Chipp  and  Mr. 
Danenhower  found  traces  of  Nordenskiold — pictures,  coins, 
and  coat-buttons.  I  shot  a  number  of  herring  (Siberian 
variety  of  Argentatwi)  and  glaucous-winged  gulls,  and  saw 
numerous  seals  (the  "floe-rats"  of  Lamout,  Phoca  fcetida). 
In  the  ^af  tern  oon  of  this  day  we  left  for  Wrangel  Land, 
through  loose  ice  which  floated  from  one  to  ten  feet  out  of 
water. 

After  some  days,  on  Thursday,  September  4th,  at  six  P.  M., 
we  sighted  Herald  Island.  Among  the  creatures  seen  I 
enumerate  walrus,  seals,  and  bears,  and  of  the  birds  there 
were  phalaropes  in  small  flocks  of  six,  ten, or  twelve.  These 
graceful  little  creatures  were  very  unsuspicious,  swimming 
quite  near  and  in  circles,  as  is  their  habit  when  feeding. 
They  ride  very  buoyantly  in  the  water,  and  are  so  interesting 
that  I  could  watch  them  for  hours.  Then  there  were  mur- 
res  and  guillemots,  beautiful  kittiwake  gulls,  some  burgo- 
masters (these  last  very  shy),  and  the  lovely  ivory  gull,  in 
both  adult  and  immature  plumage.  Its  immature  white, 
spotted  with  black,  is  very  pretty,  but  the  pure  whiteness  of 
the  adult,  with  the  coal-black  feet  and  legs,  makes  a  very 
pretty  picture.  This  species,  afterward  very  common,  was 
always  very  tame. 

The  men  were  at  this  time  enjoying  themselves  with  foot- 
ball and  skating  on  the  new  ice,  which  was  at  this  time  from 
four  to  six  inches  thick.  Their  skates  were  made  on  board 
for  the  occasion.  Having  read  and  heard  much  of  the  fero- 
cious polar  bear,  I  can  never  forget  my  feelings  as  upon 
one  occasion  Mr.  Collins  and  I  approached  two  large  ones 
which  we  discovered.  In  my  journal  I  find  this  note : — 

"  I  thought  they  were  going  to  show  fight  as  they  came 
toward  us,  then  stood  defiantly  awaiting  our  approach. 
Loading  our  rifles  we  walked  toward  them,  cocking  our 
pieces,  but  when  within  some  four  hundred  yards  one  of 
them  turned  and  left.  We  got  about  one  hundred  yards 
17 


280  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

nearer,  when  the  remaining  bear  turned  and  started  off, 
shaking  his  head  ominously.  We  immediately  let  go  a  shot 
each,  which  made  him  jump  and  start  off  quicker,  we  in 
hot  pursuit.  But  he  and  his  companion  soon  distanced  us. 
At  first  I  thought  it  was  going  to  be  a  fight  for  life  between 
us,  but  when  I  saw  them  turn  and  run  my  only  sensations 
were  those  of  disgust  and  disappointment.  I  measured  the 
footprints  of  one  of  these  bears  and  found  them  to  average  18 
inches.  This  day  I  saw  a  raven,  the  first  since  leaving 
Ounalaska ;  and  Mr.  Collins  saw  a  hawk,  and  from  his  de- 
scription I  think  it  was  the  Iceland  falcon.  This  bird,  I  re- 
gret to  say,  I  did  not  once  see  during  my  stay  in  the  Arctic, 
and  my  disappointment  is  great,  as  I  hoped  to  add  further 
knowledge  of  its  habitat." 

The  first  seal,  a  young  "  floe-rat,"  was  shot  by  one  of  the 
Indians,  when  with  Mr.  Chipp  on  his  sled  trip  toward 
Herald  Island.  After  skinning  this  seal  the  Indian  cut 
small  pieces  off  each  hind  foot  to  "  give  good  luck  ;  more 
seal ;  kill  um."  Then  taking  the  bladder  and  gall,  he  dropped 
them  carefully  into  the  water  to  "  make  um  more  seal." 

The  first  bears  killed  were  taken  on  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber by  Mr.  Chipp  and  Mr.  Dunbar.  Mr.  Collins  photograph- 
ed them  in  fine  style.  On  this  day  I  got  seven  beautiful 
young  gulls.  These  birds  were  attracted  by  the  killing  of 
the  bears,  and  as  they  invariably  came  from  the  leeward  I 
believe  it  was  the  scent  of  blood,  and  not  by  sight,  that  they 
were  drawn  around.  I  have  seen  birds  on  the  Banks  of 
Newfoundland  attracted  similarly,  and  always  in  those  cases 
from  leeward. 

Among  my  notes  I  find  the  following : — "  This  morning  a 
singular  phenomenon  occurred.  Seaman  Mansen  described 
it  as  follows : — i  This  night,  or  early  morning,  I  went  aft  to 
look  at  the  compass;  going  forward  again,  I  noticed  a  dull 
red  ball  of  fire  on  the  port  bow.  It  had  an  oscillating, 
horizontal  motion.  In  size  it  looked  as  big  as  the  moon 
when  full.  It  lasted  for  a  few  minutes,  then  suddenly  dis- 
appeared ;  caused  much  surprise  and  discussion  among  tho 


A    SINGULAR    PHENOMENON.  281 

sailors  and  others.  Mr.  Collins  called  it  an  electric  gaseous 
formation.'  A  similar  phenomenon  was  afterward  seen  by 
Seaman  Dressier,  who  said  this  one  exploded.  He  went 
out  where  he  thought  it  had  fallen,  but  failed  to  find  any 
pieces." 

During  this  time  numbers  of  seal  and  walrus  were  seen. 
One  of  the  Indians  and  myself  got  two  walrus  ;  both  had 
fine  tusks.  These  creatures  were  dozing  on  the  edge  of 
the  ice  and  partly  in  the  water  close  beside  each  other. 
They  were  both  mortally  hurt  with  the  first  bullets.  The 


WALRUS. 

blood  spurted  out  some  two  feet  into  the  air  from  each  bul- 
let-hole. After  the  first  fire  we  sprang  forward  within  three 
feet  and  fired  five  more  bullets,  finishing  them.  Their  com- 
bined weight  was  some  3,600  pounds.  The  Indian  bared 
one  arm,  pushed  it  down  the  throat  of  the  one  he  shot,  and, 
pulling  it  out,  wiped  the  fresh  blood  on  his  forehead,  after 
this  applying  some  snow  on  the  place.  This,  he  said,  was 
for  "  good  luck/'  and  "  because  his  father  taught  it  him." 
Thirty  dogs,  with  a  number  of  the  men,  dragged  my  walrus 
over  the  ice,  some  three  miles,  to  the  ship. 


282  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Snowsboc-travellng  on  the  ice  became  quite  the  rage  about 
November  10th,  and  many  were  the  tumbles  got  by  all.  Our 
snow-shoes  were  those  used  by  the  natives  about  Norton 
Sound  and  upon  the  Yukon.  By  the  14th  of  October,  tho 
observatory  being  put  up,  telephone  communication  witli  tho 
ship,  distant  some  one  hundred  yards,  was  established. 

One  day  soon  after  this  I  got  two  small  gulls.  They 
came  along  near  a  lead  where  I  nvas  sitting,  and  when  with- 
in range  I  fired,  tumbling  one  down  into  the  water ;  the 
other  turned  and  I  got  it.  They  proved  to  be  Ross'  gulls 
(Rodostistua  rosed),  an  exceedingly  rare  species,  very  buoy- 
ant and  graceful  on  the  wing,  beautiful  pearl-blue  on  the 
backs,  vermilion  feet  and  legs,  and  lovely  tea-rose  on  the 
breasts  and  under  parts ;  the  rosy  tint  being  scarcely  a  color, 
yet  blending  in  exquisite  harmony  witli  the  pearl-blue  of 
the  upper  parts.  They  were  in  full  feather.  I  afterward 
got  three  more  in  adult  and  immature  plumage.  This 
species  is  the  loveliest  I  ever  saw.  I  saw  more  birds,  seals, 
and  walrus  this  first  autumn  than  at  any  subsequent  time. 
Of  course,  I  except  our  stay  at  Bennett  Island,  where  there 
were  thousands  of  murres,  guillemots,  and  gulls  breeding. 

During'  the  last  of  October  and  in  November  light  snow 
fell  at  intervals,  and  as  it  packed  hard  improved  the  walk- 
ing ;  also  on  newly-made  ice,  after  the  rime  had  formed, 
traveling  was  very  pleasant.  I  made  frequent  excursions 
over  the  ice  in  quest  of  specimens,  and  though  the  birds 
were  leaving,  I  gathered  much  of  interest.  The  ice  this  first 
fall  jammed  and  smashed  a  good  deal.  My  notes  of  Novem- 
ber 7th  state : — 

"  Ice  is  in  motion  as  yesterday,  cracking  fearfully.  The 
pressure  is  very  great.  Great  pieces  are  pushed  about  like 
toys.  The  floe  upheaves  and  gives  way  in  a  manner  one 
would  believe  impossible.  The  ship  is  all  right  now,  but  for 
how  long  no  one  knows.  Have  gun  and  knapsack  ready  to 
leave  at  a  moment's  notice  for — God  knows  where." 

Some  beautiful  solar  halos  were  seen  about  this  time,  and 
the  aurora  was  very  fine.  "  To-night,  November  10th,  the 


GRAND    AURORAL   DISPLAY. 


283 


finest  I  ever  saw.  Six  arches  intersected  by  cirrus  clouds 
near  the  horizon  and  extended  from  west-northwest  to  east, 
covering  almost  half  the  heavens.  Through  this  the  stars 
were  twinkling  beautifully.  Wonderfully  grand !  Some 
perpendicular  rays  near  horizon,  the  whole  display  full  of 
majestic  power.  With  the  booming  and  cracking  of  the  ice, 
it  formed  an  incident  to  be  remembered.  One  could  almost 
feel  the  electricity.  Lights  required  twenty -four  hours 
through.  Soon  the  sun  will  leave  us." 


ICE  PRESSURE. 

On  the  night  of  November  13th  a  sound  was  heard  as  if 
of  ice  relaxing  its  pressure.  A  look  outside  showed  an 
opening  on  our  port,  forming  an  extensive  and  increasing 
lead,  with  quite  a  current.  All  hands  turned  out  and  stood 
by  for  a  call.  The  ship  was  in  a  peculiar  position — open 
water  over  the  rail  port  side  and  gang-plank  out  on  the  star- 
board. She  was  supposed  to  be  held  by  a  tongue  of  ice 
under  her,  forward. 


284  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Herald  Island  and  Wrangel  Land  were  both  in  sight  at 
this  time.  In  two  days  the  young  ice  on  our  port  was  strong 
enough  to  walk  on, — so  we  were  held  at  times,  getting 
heavily  nipped,  until  the  morning  of  November  24th,  when 
we  broke  away  from  one  floe-piece  and  drifted  in  a  perilous 
manner.  One  heavy  "  nip  "  on  the  Jeannette,  listing  her  to 
nine  degrees,  made  her  creak  and  groan  like  some  levia- 
than in  death  agonies  ;  weather  thick  ;  no  land  visible.  In 
the  evening,  the  ice  being  quiet,  we  got  some  tea.  A 
general  feeling  of  thankfulness  was  apparent  on  the  faces  of 
all.  The  only  perceptible  effects  of  this  severe  handling 
were  about  the  joiner-work  and  a  hole  stove  in  the  bulwarks 
on  the  port  side.  During  these  heavy  nips  and  scenes  of 
commotion  the  dogs,  some  forty  in  number,  often  broke  out 
in  choruses  of  howls  most  unearthly. 

On  Christmas  Day  all  hands,  fore  and  aft,  enjoyed  a  good 
dinner,  with  a  bill  of  fare  for  the  cabin  mess.  The  men 
came  aft  dressed  for  the  occasion.  They  offered  seasonable 
greetings,  and  then  returned  to  the  "  deck  house,"  where  an 
impromptu  entertainment  of  singing,  dancing,  and  so  on  was 
given,  and  enjoyed  by  all. 

New  Year's  Day  was  a  pleasant  one,  being  ushered  in  by 
the  ringing  of  the  ship's  bell  and  cheers.  In  the  evening  a 
nice  entertainment  was  given  by  the  men.  A  programme 
of  the  dinner,  which  I  have  saved,  reads  thus : — 

60UP. 

Julienne. 

FISH. 
Spiced  salmon. 

MEATS. 
Arctic  turkey  (roast  seal).     Cold  ham. 

VEGETABLES. 

Canned  green  peas.     Succotash. 
Macaroni,  with  cheese  and  tomatoes. 

DESSERT. 
English  canned  plum  pudding,  with  cold  sauce. 

Mince  pie. 

Muscat  dates,  figs,  almonds,  filberts,  English  walnuts,  raisins,  mixed 
candy  from  France  direct  by  the  ship. 


WEW-YEAR'S  FESTIVITIES.  285 

WINES. 

Pale  sherry. 

BEER. 

London  stout. 

French  chocolate  and  coffee. 
"  Hard  tack." 

Cigars. 

ARCTIC  STEAMER  JEANNETTE,  Dec.  25,  1879. 
Beset  in  the  pack,  72  degrees  north  latitude. 

The  programme  of  the  entertainment  was  as  follows ; — 

THE   CELEBKATED   JEANNETTE  MINSTRELS. 

PROGRAMME. 

PART  FIRST. 

Overture by Orchestra 

Ella  Ree by Mr.  Sweetman 

Shoo  Fly by H.  Wilson 

Kitty  Wells by Edward  Star 

Mignonette by H.  Warren 

Finale by Companj 

Intermission. 

PART    SECOND. 

The  world-renowned  Anequin,  of  the  Great  Northwest,  in  his  original 

comicalities. 

The  great  Dressier  in  his  favorite  accordion  solo, 
Mr.  John  Cole,  our  favorite  clog  and 

jig  dancer. 

Wilson  as  the  great  Captain  Schmidt,  of  the  Dutch  Hussara. 

Violin  solo  by  George  Kuehne,  Ole  Bull's  great  rivaL 

Intermission. 

PART  THIRD 
concludes  the  performance  with  the  side-splitting 

farce  of 

MONEY   MAKES    THE   MARE    GO. 
Characters. 

Mr.  Keen  Sage George  W.  Boyd 

Miss  Keen  Sage W.  Sharvell 

Charles  Tilden  (a  promising  young  man,  in  love  with  Miss 

Sage) H.  W.  Leach 

Julius  Goodasgold H.  D.  Warren 

Costumer,  A.  Gortz. 
Property  Man,  W.  Nindennann. 
NEW  YEAR'S,  1881. 


286  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Thus  opened  the  year,  soon  to  prove  eventful.  The  num- 
ber of  birds  shot  by  all  hands  during  1879  was  215 ;  man/ 
more  might  have  been  taken,  but,  like  Josh  Billings'  crow, 
we  did  not  "  hanker  arter "  them,  nor  had  we  learned  to 
value  them  for  fresh  food,  as  was  afterward  the  case.  Our 
first  season  for  collecting  was  short;  still  we  could  enumerate 
specimens  ornithological,  botanical,  ethnological,  osteological 
and  alcoholic,  which  looked  well  as  a  nucleus.  As  the  days 
began  to  lengthen  the  cold  began  to  strengthen.  Our  coldest 
weather  for  this  year  was  in  February,  when  the  spirit 
thermometer  indicated — 57.8  Fahrenheit.  Very  little  wind, 
as  a  rule,  with  these  low  temperatures. 

One  day,  soon  after  New  Year's,  I  was  out  walking  with 
one  of  the  Indians.  Noticing  the  new  moon,  he  stopped, 
faced  it,  and  blowing  out  his  breath  he  spoke  to  it,  invoking 
success  in  hunting.  The  moon,  he  said,  was  the  "  Tyune,"  or 
ruler  of  deer,  bears,  seals,  and  walrus.  The  Indian  told  me 
ihis  particular  manner  of  invoking  good-will  was  a  secret 
handed  down  to  him  by  his  father,  who  got  it  from  a  very 
Did  Indian  for  a  wolf-skin. 

The  Jeannette  was  under  pressure  off  and  on  all  winter, 
And  on  the  19th  of  January,  in  consequence  of  a  crack 
which  made  right  under  her  forefoot,  she  sprung  a  leak. 
*  The  men  are  at  the  pumps  constantly  night  and  day.  I 
took  a  spell  myself.  The  ship  at  this  time,  by  estimate  of 
the  carpenter,  is  leaking  between  2,500  and  3,000  strokes 
per  hour.  Unless  the  pressure  ceases  it  is  only  a  question 
of  time  how  soon  we  have  to  abandon  the  Jeannette.  The 
Siberian  coast  is  some  two  hundred  miles  south  by  compass. 
A  long,  tough  journey ;  but  a  will  to  work  has  helped  many 
a  man  through  a  tight  place,  and,  I  trust,  will  yet  help  us. 
The  quivering  of  the  ship  indicates  the  pressure  yet  upon 
her." 

On  the  21st  a  steam-pump  was  rigged  forward.  "  This 
greatly  relieves  the  men,  who  are  working  splendidly."  From 
the  date  of  this  accident  until  her  being  crushed — a  period 
of  some  eighteen  months — pumping  was  kept  up  night  and 


A    DANGEROUa  EXCURSION.  287 

day.  "  Yesterday  evening  (January  20th)  one  of  the  Indians 
made  an  offering  of  some  tobacco  to  the  moon  for  the  safety 
of  the  ship."  The  effects  of  the  cold  at  this  time  when  out 
on  the  ice  was  to  freeze  the  moccasin  soles  and  mittens 
while  on  feet  and  hands.  Nose-guards  were  worn  by  many. 
After  walking  perhaps  an  hour  or  so,  a  feeling  as  of  lump  in 
the  stomach  from  indigestion  would  be  experienced."  Under 
date  of  January  24th  I  wrote :  "  Ice  now  about  ship  is 
.bulged  and  pushed  under  her  from  ten  to  eighteen  feet  thick 
in  accumulative  masses."  For  the  25th  I  find :  "  The  sun 
was  seen  to-day  for  a  brief  period  after  an  absence  of  seventy- 
one  days.  Wrangel  Land  is  visible." 

As  an  illustration  showing  the  danger  always  attendant 
upon  going  any  distance  from  the  ship  I  quote  :  "  February 
16th. — Off  with  one  of  the  Indians  to  the  northwest ;  some 
twelve  miles ;  found  only  old  tracks  of  bears.  When  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  ship,  on  our  way  back,  we  found  that 
where  we  walked  over  solid  ice  in  going  out  there  was  now 
a  lead  or  lane  of  water  some  forty  feet  in  width.  This 
looked  serious,  as  it  was  in  old  heavy  ice  and  increasing. 

"After  taking  a  smoke  we  struck  off  east  some  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile,  where  we  found  it  much  narrower,  and 
succeeded  in  jumping  from  piece  to  piece,  and  thus  crossing 
safely  to  the  floe  in  which  the  Jeannette  was  fast,  soon 
reaching  the  vessel,  and  very  glad  to  get  out  of  an  awkward 
situation."  Lest  some  reader  may  think  the  above  sensa- 
tional, I  would  say  that  the  wind,  though  light,  was  against 
us,  daylight  short,  the  water  widening,  and  a  temperature 
— 45  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  exception  to  the  rule  occurred 
next  day  when,  at  a  temperature  of — C3  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
a  gale  of  wind  sprang  up,  blowing  some  forty-five  miles  per 
hour  in  squalls,  with  thick,  blinding  snow  which  one  could 
not  face. 

On  the  morning  of  February  1st,  one  of  the  Indians  shot 
a  fine  white  fox  ;  we  were  some  fifty  miles  northwest  of 
Herald  Island,  and  nearly  as  much  from  Wrangel  Land  at 
the  time.  This  animal  is  decidedly  a  rover.  On  the  morn- 


288  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

ing  of  the  2d  a  large  bear  made  us  a  visit,  walking  up  the 
gang-plank  with  evident  intentions  of  coming  on  board.  The 
dogs  had  come  in  ahead  of  him  and  were  huddled  together 
on  deck,  barking  furiously.  Bruin  paid  for  his  temerity  with 
his  life,  for  Mr.  D unbar  came  out  with  his  rifle  and  soon  dis- 
patched him.  Though  we  received  other  numerous  visits 
from  these  huge  creatures,  none  were  so  bold  as  he.  They 
would  commonly  make  off  at  sight,  though  when  cornered 
showed  fight  at  the  dogs. 

On  the  22d  of  February  the  ship  was  dressed  with  bunting 
and  presented  a  very  gay  appearance.  American  ensigns  at 
the  fore  and  main,  and  the  American  yachting  ensign  at  the 
mizzen.  Our  soundings  at  this  season  averaged  about  thirty- 
three  fathoms,  with  a  mud  bottom.  "  The  returning  light 
shows  the  effect  of  its  absence  in  the  bleached  appearance  of 
all.  I  notice  the  cold  renders  the  finger-nails  brittle.  Mea- 
surements beside  a  recent  crack  show  the  floe  to  be  about 
ten  feet  in  thickness.  This  is  ice  made  this  winter."  A 
series  of  measurements  taken  after  this  made  the  average 
thickness  eight  feet. 

Among  the  peculiarities  of  some  of  the  walrus  which  I 
saw,  I  would  mention  the  difference  in  size  and  length  of 
the  tusks, — the  left  tusk  being  the  longest,  the  upper  teeth 
much  more  worn  than  the  lower,  and  in  one  skull  a  singular 
one-sided  development  of  lower  jaw.  I  believe  it  has  been 
considered  doubtful  if  the  walrus  is  carnivorous.  Without 
attempting  any  discussion  I  would  say,  I  have  taken  pieces 
of  skin  with  hair  attached  from  the  stomach  of  one  shot  by 
the  Indian  Alexai.  This  skin  was  from  a  young  bearded 
seal  (Phoca  barbata).  Four  bears  were  the  most  seen  to- 
gether. During  the  month  of  April  I  took  a  small  sparrow 
and  a  small  bird  (Budytes  flavd),  stragglers  from  shore. 
May  1st  saw  the  first  gull — a  kittiwake.  It  was  rather  dis- 
tant. During  the  first  part  of  this  month  I  shot  some 
murres  (£7.  Brunnichii)  and  guillemots  (27.  grylle),  and 
saw  others.  "  All  the  birds  go  west.  I  think  there  must  be 
land  in  that  direction  where  they  go  to  nest." 


OUR   FOURTH    OP  JULY.  289 

By  the  middle  of  May  one  could  at  midnight  see  to  read 
in  the  cabin  without  lamp  or  candle.  More  bears  were  taken 
this  spring  than  at  any  other  time.  I  got  a  fine  old  fellow 
with  a  beautiful  coat.  On  the  1st  of  June  dredging  was  be- 
gun. This  day's  haul  contained  some  asterias,  and  one  small 
bivalve.  Though  the  number  of  birds  daily  increases  they 
are  not  yet  plenty.  The  seals  are  now  beginning  to  sun 
themselves  on  the  ice,  but  they  are  very  shy.  The  ice  now 


MORE  FRESH  MEAT. 

wastes  perceptibly  every  day.  Under  date  of  June  20th  I 
find  written  :  "  To-day  I  collected  nine  mosquitoes."  These 
were  the  first  entomological  specimens  collected  after  we  en- 
tered the  Arctic  Circle,  though  subsequently  I  got  one  fly  and 
a  spider.  During  June  and  July  I  took  Ross',  ivory  and 
kittiwake  gulls,  jagers,  murres,  guillemots  and  phalaropes. 

On  the  Fourth  of  July,  1880,  the  ship  was  again  dressed 
with  flags.  In  June  we  had  some  brief  showers,  and  also 
in  July  and  August.  In  June  the  dogs  at  times  sought  the 
shade  of  the  ship  to  sleep.  Some  beautiful  asterias  were 
obtained. by  the  dredge  this  month.  I  have  saved  sketches 
and  notes  for  future  study.  On  July  25th  a  bearded  seal 
was  shot  by  the  Indian  Ancquin.  This,  the  only  one  taken, 
was  a  fine  specimen.  The  skin  made  excellent  soles  for  our 


290  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

moccasins,  and  the  meat  was  quite  eatable.  The  stomach 
contained  worms,  which  were  very  much  like  the  ascaris 
lumbricoides  of  man.  On  the  last  day  of  the  month  Mr. 
Collins  added  a  fine  jager,  species  Buffonii,  to  the  collection. 

On  the  afternoon  of  August  3d  a  smoky  haze  with  a  strong 
smoky  smell  was  very  apparent.  Its  cause  I  must  leave  the 
reader  to  conjecture.  In  August,  Mr.  Chipp  shot  two  sand- 
pipers ( A.  maculata)  ;  these  proved  an  interesting  addition 
to  our  collection.  Fish  were  never  plenty,  but  a  small 
species  of  cod  (  Cr.  gracillls),  some  six  inches  long,  was  fre- 
quently seen  during  the  brief  summer  season. 

During  this  month  I  often  noticed  patches  of  snow  some- 
times blood-red,  at  other  times  nearer  a  brown  ;  and,  by 
viewing  these  deposits  from  different  points,  one  could 
readily  see  exquisite  shades  of  blue,  green,  purple,  and  crim- 
son. These  deposits  were  nearly  always  on  old  floe.  I  had 
not  the  chance  to  study  it  which  I  desired,  but  I  think  it 
was  algae,  the  same  as  or  allied  with  Pamella  nivalis. 

During  the  first  part  of  September  a  small  flight  of  phala- 
ropes  (P.  fulicarius)  occurred.  They  seldom  stopped,  but 
moved  in  small  flocks  of  six  or  eight  in  a  general  direction 
from  northeast  to  southwest.  In  consequence  of  the  wasting 
away  of  the  ice,  particularly  where  cracks  had  been,  lanes 
of  water  were  formed.  The  lanes  connected  with  the  ocean 
by  holes,  but  were  on  the  average  only  three  feet  deep,  with 
the  ice  between  this  water  and  the  ocean  proper.  I  often 
paddled  a  kayak  about  these  lanes,  sometimes  several 
miles,  taking  the  gun  with  me.  Surface  ponds,  in  extent 
sometimes  of  several  acres,  also  formed ;  to  paddle  about 
these  was  quite  enjoyable ;  then,  too,  the  possibility  of  pick- 
ing up  a  specimen  added  to  the  interest.  Though  ice  had 
formed  over  pond-holes,  it  was  not  strong  enough  to  bear  a 
man  until  about  September  6th.  Among  the  things  found 
on  the  ice  this  season  were  pieces  of  wood  and  parts  of  trees, 
both  birch  and  fir,  and  parts  of  two  skeletons  of  good-sized 
codfish.  These  last  evidently  had  been  caught  much  farther 


OUR    HEAVIEST   BEAR. 


291 


eouth  by  seals,  and  drifted  on  the  ice  up  to  the  latitudes 
where  they  were  found. 

Throughout  the  summer  much  of  the  time  the  men  were 
hunting,  and  thus  we  had  seal  at  least  once  a  week  for  din- 
ner— sometimes  eatable,  often  not,  but  best  when  roasted 
and  eaten  cold.  Both  bear  and  seal,  in  the  absence  of  other 
fresh  meat,  will  pass,  but  are  not  very  desirable.  None  of 
the  bears  taken  by  us  came  up  to  the  weights  I  have  seen 
mentioned  by  other  Arctic  voyagers.  The  heaviest  one  ob- 
tained by  us  weighed  as  shot  943J  pounds,  and  was  a  fat 
one.  In  measurements  they  were  about  the  same. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MR  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED). 

DURING  the  summer  of  1880  the  i  :e  had  been  compara- 
tively quiet,  but  by  October  it  was  grinding,  smasn- 
ing,  and  piling  up  in  many  places  in  a  manner  fatal  to  any 
ship  caught  by  it.  The  mercury  fell  to  — 45  degrees  by  the 
middle  of  this  month,  and  the  snow  would  give  a  metallic 
ring  at  each  footfall,  loud  enough  to  interfere  with  ordinary 
conversation.  Standing  near  some  of  these  conflicts  be- 
tween grinding  floes,  one  first  would  realize  the  pressure  by 


CONFLICT  OF  THE  FLOES. 

the  humming,  buzzing  sound ;  then  a  pulsation  is  felt. 
Something  must  give.  Bang  goes  the  ice  right  under  foot, 
with  a  report  like  a  big  gun.  Although  you  are  watching,  it 
startles  you.  It  upheaves,  lifts  you  with  it,  and  you  must 
step  back  to  a  safer  place.  I  have  often  taken  these  rides. 
There  is  a  wonderful  fascination  about  it. 

On  November  10th  the  sun  was  seen  by  refraction ;  on 
the  llth  it  left  us.     The  temperature  this  month  varied  a 

(292) 


CHRISTMAS    ENTERTAINMENTS.  293 

good  deal,  falling  to  — 33°  the  first  week  and  rising  the  last 
of  the  month  to  4-8°.  Whenever  the  ice  opened  the  tempera- 
ture would  rise  by  reason  of  the  amount  of  heat  liberated. 
The  lowest  temperatures  were  during  clear  weather.  Seve- 
ral meteors  were  observed  this  month.  These  were  of  much 
interest  to  Mr.  Collins,  and  were  he  with  us  he  would  have 
something  to  say  about  them  in  his  usual  entertaining  man- 
ner. Appetites  and  sleep  were  not  so  good  this  second  winter. 
During  December  the  ship  was  shaken  up  off  and  on,  and 
much  heavy  jamming  of  ice  occurred. 

On  Christmas  Eve  the  men  gave  another  very  nice  enter- 
tainment in  the  deck-house,  buttonhole  bouquets  and  all. 
These  bouquets  (I  have  nine  of  them  before  me  as  I  write) 
were  made  of  pink  and  green  paper,  and  handed  us  by  Seaman 
Johnson  with  one  of  his  pleasant  smiles.  Poor  fellow,  he 
is  now  missing !  A  good  man  and  a  tiptop  seaman.  Of 
those  who  on  that  night  contributed  for  our  amusement  nine 
are  among  the  missing.  I  append  a  programme  of  the  en- 
tertainment : — 

JEANNETTE'S  MINSTREL  TROUPE. 

PROGRAMME. 

PART  FIRST. 

Overture Company 

The  Slave Mr.  Sweetman 

Nelly  Gray H.  Wilson 

What  Should  Make  You  Sad  ? G.  W.  Boyd 

The  Spanish  Cavalier E.  Star 

Our  Boys H.  Warren 

PART  SECOND. 

The  great  "Ah  Sain  "  and  "  Tong  Sing  "  in  their  wonderful 

tragic  performances. 
Accordeon  solo  by  the  celebrated  artist  Herr  Dressier. 

Mr.  Henry  Wilson 

in  his  serio-comic  songs. 

Alexai  and  Anequin  still  on  the  role. 

Violin  Solo G.  Kuehne 

Magic  Lantern  Views Mr.  Sweetman 


18 


296  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

To  conclude  with  the  popular  play, 

"THE   SIAMESE   TWINS." 

Characters. 

Professor G.  W.  Boyd 

Agent  (in  love  with  the  Professor's  daughter) H.  W.  Leach 

Professor's  Daughter W.  Sharvell 

The  Twins P.  E.  Johnson  and  H.  Warren 

FINALE. 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner." 

Given  by  all  hands. 
CHRISTMAS  EVE,  1880. 

Friday  evening,  December  31st,  another  and  the  last  en- 
tertainment was  given  by  the  boys  forward.  One  of  the 
original  programmes  is  subjoined.  [See  fac-simile.]  Before 
the  fun  commenced  a  poem  by  Mr.  Collins,  which  he  had 
written  for  the  occasion,  was  recited.  It  will  now  be  read 
with  a  melancholy  interest : — 

A  PROLOGUE. 

On  the  lone  icebound  sea  we  gather  here 

To  greet  the  dawning  of  another  year. 

The  past  is  full  of  memories  :  we  recall 
Thoughts,  words  and  deeds,  bright  forms  and  faces, 
Hopes,  blessings,  yea,  and  loved  ones'  fond  embraces; 

And  parting  prayers,  up  offered  for  us  all, 

By  lips  from  hearts  to  each  of  us  endear'd, 

To  guard  us  on  the  course  we've  northward  steer'd. 

Now  though  for  merriment  we  all  unite 

And  make  the  deck-house  ring  with  joy  to-night, 

At  intermission,  'twixt  the  dance  and  song, 

How  quickly  our  fleet  thoughts  will  wing 

To  distant  lands  and  scenes,  to  bring 
A  mystic  spell  upon  each  darling  throng 
Of  festive  friends,  who  wondering  ask  each  other, 

"  How  fares  our  absent  one — son,  husband,  brother  ?  " 
' 

And  dearer  hearts,  that  beat  with  tenderest  throb, 

E'en  now  may  yearn  for  us,  and  many  a  sob 

May  echo  in  a  loneliness  as  drear  as  ours  ; 
For  where  stern  fate  the  golden  link  hath  riven, 
And  hearts  from  hearts  beloved  afar  are  driven, 

A  common  cloud  o'er  all  the  parted  lowers; 


A   PROLOGUE.  297 


As  if  a  pitying  heaven  would  so  decree 
That  parted  souls  should  feel  in  unity. 


But  while  we  thus  may  sentimentalize 
In  manner  p'raps  the  opposite  of  wise, 
Mirth  will  demand  the  passing  moments,  too. 

And  though  our  efforts  here  may  fail  to  reach 

The  heights  of  comedy,  yet  will  they  teach 
Our  audience  that  the  bound  Jeannette's  good  crew, 
For  Arctic  dangers  and  the  floe's  worst  jam 
Don't  care  a  single  continental  damn. 

Some  one  remarks,  "  We  have  no  coal  for  steaming  :** 

Why,  no,  but  surely,  if  I  am  not  dreaming, 

I  see  quite  near  me — a  small  pile,  'tis  true, 
But,  gentlemen,  no  better  Cole,*  'tis  said 
E'er  came  aboard.  What's  more  than  this,  he's  red — 

Ready,  I  mean,  to  do  his  duty,  too ; 

And  though  his  weight  is  heavy  round  New  York, 

In  earlier  days  'twas  found  not  far  from  Cork.- 

And  not  since  Adam  sinn'd  e'er  lived  a  man 

Who  lov'd  the  Arctic  like  our  Nindermann.f 

Who  can  be  found  among  our  crew  that  ran  a 
Risk  on  the  ice  like  his,  as  sou'westward  floating 
Upon  the  floe  piece — most  unpleasant  boating  ? 

But  I  suspect  a  buxom  squaw  named  Hannah 

Was  very  much  the  reason,  if  not  cause, 

Why  William  so  admires  the  Esquimaux. 

Again  regretting  that  the  much  lov'd  sex 
Can't  grace  our  festival,  or  light  our  decks 
With  eyes  far  brighter  than  the  night  queen's  lanterns, — 
We're  not  so  badly  off,  though,  as  you  think, 
For  Fortune,  that  our  spirits  might  not  sink, 
Has  sent  a  substitute  along,  and  Sweetman  turns 
Up  in  our  midst,  his  jolly  visage  beaming 
With  smiles  and  lips  whence  pleasantry  is  streaming. 

Here,  too,  you'll  find  among  us,  as  you  see, 
The  stalwart,  bold  machinist-man  called  Lee, 
Whose  hand  is  ready,  like  magician's  wand, 

To  turn  an  engine  shaft  or  shape  a  pin, 

Or  put  a  piece  upon  a  pot  of  tin. 

•Jack  Cole,  the  Irish  boatswain. 

•fNlndermann  was  with  Tyson  on  the  great  1,500  mile  drift  when  separated  from  tlw 
Polaris. 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

No  better  hand  e'er  crossed  the  herring  pond 
Since  Tubal  Cain  first  hammered  into  form 
Iron,  for  use  in  battle  or  in  storm. 

Now  also  mark  that  individual  there, 
Whose  father  must  have  been  a  Bartlett  pdre. 
Sweetness  alone  could  such  a  youth  produce. 

Come,  don't  be  modest,  lift  your  head  up  higher,  man ; 

Every  one  knows  that  you're  our  first  class  fireman, 
Who  puts  his  leisure  to  the  best  of  use, 
By  thinking  out  full  many  a  thing,  worth  mention 
If  I  was  talking  up  the  history  of  invention. 

And  now,  my  friends,  I  think  not  much  you'll  marvel 

If  I  refer  to  Lauderback  and  Sharvell — 

Two  youths  who  in  the  fire-room's  gloomy  deep, 
At  temperature  too  high  for  e'en  lost  souls, 
Keep  feeding  hungry  furnaces  with  coals, 

And  faithfully  their  six  hours'  vigil  keep. 

Perhaps  they  cheat  old  Time,  and — this  between  us — 

Tell  to  each  other  stories  about  Venus. 

Ah,  yes,  my  introduction  would  be  void 

Of  interest  if  I  had  forgotten  Boyd, 

The  youngest  of  our  number,  on  whose  head 
The  weight  of  years,  and  all  the  sad  belongings 
Of  hopes  expired  and  unrequited  belongings 

Have  never  pressed  down  heavier  than  lea$. 

To  him  is  given  the  future  with  its  bubbles, 

Its  sad  successes  and  its  merry  troubles. 

"  All  hands  on  deck  ! "  pipes  up  my  boatswain's  whistle, 

And  I  sincerely  trust,  my  friends,  that  this'll 

Be  for  our  sailor  lads  the  only  call 

To  summon  them  to  duties  hard  and  serious 
Before  we  leave  this  region  most  mysterious, 

To  face  the  rolling  sea  and  treacherous  squall 

I've  noticed  often  that  when  making  sail, 

Our  boys  care  little  for  a  breeze  or  gale. 

There's  Erickson,  as  tough  as  well-tanned  leather, 
Worth  any  common  three  men  rolled  together  ; 
And  Wilson,  too,  a  very  blithesome  fellow, 
Who  handles  rope  or  rifle  like  a  sailor, 
And  needle  like  a  first-class  Broadway  tailor. 
Then,  with  a  voice  at  once  low,  sweet  and  mellow, 
Comes  one— with  boat  or  iron  bar  a  wrestler  ; 
Cooks  for  our  mess  in  style— we  call  him  Dressier. 


A    PROLOGUE. 

I  think  that,  too.  I  see,  and  not  so  far 
Off  either,  quite  a  brilliant  looking  Star  ; 
And  what  I  say  is  really  most  surprising, 
He  never  seems  to  set  ;  so  keep  your  eyes  on 
The  Star  that  never  sinks  below  horizon — 
Indeed,  he  looks  to  me  as  always  rising. 
I'm  dazzled  also  and  my  pulse  is  dancing 
From  studying  up  that  jolly  fellow,  Mansen. 

Mansen,  you  know,  was  once  caught  in  a  queer  snap 
By  stepping  unawares  into  a  bear-trap; 
But  accidents  like  this  will  sometimes  ruffle 
Even  the  most  smoothly-running  stream  of  life. 
Just  like  a  little  quarrel  with  one's  wife; 
And  whether  stuff  of  deerskin  or  of  duffel 
The  moral  points — if  e'er  you  get  your  pants  in 
A  trap  don't  have  you're  legs  in  it,  like  Mansen. 

Now,  here's  another  of  us.     If  you  want  a  tune  he 
Can  play  it  like  an  artist  ;  call  on  Kuehne. 
Or  if  life's  tension  you  would  be  relaxin' 
We  can  supply  without  the  least  delay — 
By  giving  us  a  fortnight's  notice,  any  way — 
Amusement  really  that's  worth  the  axin'. 
All  this  may  seem  to  you  a  stupid  riddle, 
But  not  so  puzzling  as  to  learn  the  fiddle. 

If  Adam  and  his  mate  had  had  but  one  son 

'Tis  certain  they  d  have  named  the  youngster  Johnson. 

And  he'd  have  died  some  forty  centuries  back, 

Being  then,  on  that  account,  to  us  no  use. 

We  have,  however,  from  the  land  of  spruce 
And  Norway  pine,  a  dapper  little  Jack, 
To  help  us  in  our  work,  to  haul  and  steer 
And  celebrate  with  us  the  good  New  Year. 

If  we  could  only  tell  what  is  before  us 

How  well  we'd  know  the  fortune  stored  for  Noros, 

Who,  like  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas, 

Looks  calmly  at  all  dangers  of  the  ocean. 

But  I've  thought  sometimes — have,  in  fact,  a  notion 
That  Noros,  when  he  looks  so  much  at  ease, 
Is  in  reality  but  calmly  thinking 
About  the  girls  at  home — now  stop  your  winking. 

What  would  we  do  if  Destiny  most  dire 
Had  robbed  us  of  a  man  we  all  admire, 
And  sent  us  cruising  round  this  icy  place 


300  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Without  companionship  of  our  friend  Nelse  ? 

Or  sent  along  with  us,  well — some  one  else  ? 
We  ne'er  had  known  stout  Iverson's  bluff  face — 
A  man  above  most  others  ;  you  can  put  your 

Last  dollar  on  him  as  an  Arctic  butcher. 

i 

Another  thought — it's  contemplation  hurts, 

What  would  we  do,  boys,  if  we  hadn't  Gortz  ? 

Our  drink  would  lose  all  taste,  our  meat  all  relish ; 
Our  laughter  would  be  silent,  and  our  bones 
Would  give  occasion  for  a  thousand  groans  ; 

In  fact,  the  situation  would  be  hellish. 

But  luck  stood  by  us  ;  Gortz  is  here,  and  willing 

Even  to  fetch  water  up  when  Lee's  distilling. 

And  now  before  I  lose  all  power  of  speech, 

Oh  let  me  say  a  little  about  Leach, 

Whose  very  smile  wrould  make  sour  apples  mellow, 

And  raise  sweet  blossoms  on  a  topsail  yard; 

But  ah,  kind  friends,  keep  still,  be  on  your  guard. 
A  giant  form  I  see — who  is  that  fellow  ? 
Gracious  !  I  thought  it  was  some  monster  foreign, 
But  really  'tis  our  messmate,  gallant  Warren. 

Before  belaying,  just  a  look  to  leeward 

Reveals  the  constellation,  cook  and  steward  ; 

And  yet  another  peep  along  our  decks.     See ! 
That's  very  like  a  face  I've  seen  elsewhere, — 
Yes,  at  St.  Michael's,  when  we  anchored  there. 

That  is  our  hunter,  which  his  name's  Alexai, 

And  with  him,  like  a  lady  loved  by  many, 

Is  our  young  sylph-like  friend,  Queen  Annie.* 

On  the  5th  of  February  the  sun  was  seen,  and  a  most 
cheering  appearance  it  had.  About  this  time  our  drift 
northwest  was  rapid.  The  snow  had  drifted  about  the  ship 
so  much  that  fifty  or  sixty  yards  away  but  little  more  than 
the  boat's  smoke-stack  and  spars  were  to  be  seen.  In  my 
notes  I  find  these  items  :  "  Our  floe  has  been  much  reduced 
by  recent  cracks.  It  looks  as  if  the  Jeannette  was  in  her 
last  dock.  Some  people  have  said  to  me  there  is  little  dan- 
ger in  the  Arctic.  They  were  evidently  not  posted.  A  ship 
in  the  pack  is  '  under  fire '  all  the  time." 

*  Queen  Annie  was  the  nickname  for  Anequin,  the  Indian  hunter. 


ONLY    A    DREAM. 


303 


During  the  early  spring  of  1881  nothing  especial  occurred. 
The  first  bird  (£7.  grylli)  was  seen  April  6th,  and  more 
birds  were  seen  this  April  than  during  the  corresponding 
month  of  last  year.  Among  them  were  no  new  species. 

The  Arctic  is  very  shoal  in  these  parts.  From  the  21st 
to  the  23d  of  this  month  we  shoaled  our  water  21  fathoms, 
giving  but  18  or  20  fathoms  where  we  had  been  getting  35 
to  40.  This  was  the  most  sudden  shoaling  we  ever  experi- 
enced. 


A  VISION  OF  HOME. 

I  suppose  the  reader  will  smile  if  I  say  that  many  a  de- 
lightful repast  I  sat  down  to  in  my  dreams.  Such,  however, 
was  the  case,  and  the  most  provoking  part  was  to  wake  up 
finding  it  only  a  dream.  Visions  of  pie — pumpkin  pie,  the 
particular  weakness  of  a  New  England  Yankee — always  oc- 
cupied an  aggravatingly  prominent  place.  Life  under  such 
circumstances  as  ours  was  well  calculated  to  make  a  person 
sleep  with  "  one  eye  and  an  ear  open." 

On  the  16th  of  May,  1881,  about  seven  P.  M.,  seaman 
Erickson  came  in  the  cabin  and  reported  to  the  captain,  say- 
ing :  "  Captain,  Mr.  Chipp  reports  land  in  sight  on  the  star- 
board beam."  This  news  made  us  all  glad.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  proximity  of  land  would  probably  cause  the  floe  to 


804  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

crack  more  dangerously,  I  could  not  overcome  the  sense  of 
security  which  the  sight  caused  me  to  feel.  This  land  bore 
N.  83  deg.  15  min.  W.  (true)  from  the  ship.  Our  position  at 
the  time  was  76  deg.  43  min.  N.,  and  161  deg.  54  min.  E. 
On  the  18th,  I  could  see  the  land  from  the  floe-level.  Pre- 
vious to  this  I  had  seen  it  only  from  aloft.  This  land  was 
afterward  named  Jeannette  Island.  As  illustrating  the  rap- 
idity of  our  drift  at  this  time,  I  mention  the  bearing  of  this 
island  from  the  ship  on  the  20th.  It  was  S;  78  deg.  30  min. 
W.  It  was  much  more  plainly  seen  this  day  than  before. 
This  island  was  not  landed  upon. 

On  the  24th  more  land  was  seen.  This  afterward  was 
named  Henrietta  Island.  Both  islands  were  in  sight  this 
evening.  On  the  morning  of  May  31st,  a  party,  consisting 
of  Mr.  Melville,  Mr.  Dunbar,  with  Bartlett,  Nindermann, 
Brickson  and  Sharvell,  left  for  the  last  new  land.  I  was  to 
go,  but,  being  taken  suddenly  ill,  was  unable  to  do  so.  This 
illness  was  caused  by  eating  canned  tomatoes — probably  lead 
poisoning.  A  number  of  the  crew  were  similarly  affected. 
Mr.  Chipp  was  thus  troubled  when  the  island  party  left  the 
ship.  This  party  took  with  them  a  sled  and  fifteen  dogs, 
with  boat,  tent,  rifles  and  provisions.  They  had  a  hard  time 
getting  to  the  shore. 

The  party  returned  on  the  4th  of  June,  having  landed, 
planted  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  taken  possession.  Three 
points  were  named.  The  first,  Bennett  Headlands,  are  bold 
and  rocky.  They  form  very  secure  nesting-places  for  multi- 
tudes of  guillemots  and  murres.  A  number  of  guillemots 
( U.  grylle)  were  shot  by  Sharvell,  and  Bartlett  saw  num- 
bers of  eggs,  but  in  inaccessible  places.  The  next  place  was 
Cape  Melville,  so  named  by  the  men.  Between  Bennett 
Headlands  and  Cape  Melville  was  Point  Dunbar.  Near  here 
a  cairn  was  built,  and  some  papers,  suitably  enclosed,  buried 
beneath. 

This  island  is  from  2,500  to  3,000  feet  high,  barren  and 
rocky,  with  one  large  and  some  smaller  glaciers  on  the 
northern  and  eastern  sides.  The  jacket  of  snow  and  ice 


ANIMAL   AND    VEGETABLE   LIFE.  305 

spread  over  the  high  parts  was  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  thickness.  Botanical  specimens  embrace 
two  little  mosses,  two  pretty  lichens,  and  one  of  grass.  Cape 
Melville  is  1,200  feet  high.  Soundings  off  here  were  had  in 
eighteen  fathoms,  with  bold  water.  Point  Dunbar  is  600 
feet  in  height.  The  ice  near  the  land  passes  northwest,  in 
heavy  motion  all  the  time. 

The  number  of  guillemots  about  at  this  time  was  much 
increased.  These  birds  often  circled  about  the  ship  with 
evident  curiosity.  On  the  morning  the  sled  party  left  for 
the  island  I  got  a  fine  adult-plumaged  snow-bunting  (P. 
nivalis).  I  had  seen  this  species  before,  but  tl^is  was  the 
first  one  taken.  Every  day,  while  near  Henrietta  Island,  I 
noticed  the  guillemots  going  off  in  the  morning  toward  the 
northeast,  apparently  to  feed,  and  returning  in  the  evening. 
This  I  afterward  found  to  be  the  case,  as  the  stomachs  of  all 
those  I  shot  were  full  of  food,  crustaceans,  and  recognizable 
parts  of  small  fish  like  G-.  gracilis.  I  afterward  saw  this 
bird  (  U.  grylle)  dive,  and  come  up  with  a  live  fish  of  this 
species  in  its  beak.  It  proceeded  to  kill  the  fish  by  beating 
it  on  the  water  and  shaking  it.  I  did  not  see  it  swallow  the 
fish,  as,  becoming  suddenly  frightened,  the  bird  flew  away. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  the  island  party  the  ice  about  the 
ship  cracked  in  a  lively  manner,  and  on  the  9th  she  was 
afloat.  In  consequence  of  the  open  water  about  and  the  prox- 
imity of  land,  the  shooting  improved,  and  I  at  times  got  very 
good  sport.  The  fresh  food  thus  obtained  was  very  desir- 
able. On  the  llth  the  ice  was  comparatively  quiet.  The 
ship  lay  alongside  the  floe  with  ice-anchors  out. 

On  the  12th  the  ice  came  together,  the  ship  was  heavily 
nipped,  and  careened  to  16  degrees ;  but  the  pressure  relax- 
ing, she  righted  again.  All  hands  were  on  the  alert  for 
duty.  Between  five  and  six  P.  M.  the  pressure  was  heavy, 
raising  the  ship  by  the  bow  and  settling  her  by  the  stern. 
She  again  heeled  to  starboard,  and  the  ship  showed  the  pres- 
sure, groaning  and  shaking  in  the  ice-king's  grasp.  The 
humming  sound  throughout  the  vessel,  with  the  cracking  of 


306  THE    JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

deck  seams  and  the  dancing  of  the  whole  upper  works,  was 
a  sad  evidence  of  the  situation.  I  can  never  forget  the 
manner  in  which  the  gang  ladders  leading  to  the  bridge 
jumped  from  their  chucks,  and  danced  on  the  deck  like 
drumsticks  on  the  head  of  a  drum.  In  the  midst  of  this 
wild  scene  a  crash  was  heard.  A  man  came  up  from  below 
and  said  : — 

"  The  ice  is  coming  through  the  coal  bunkers." 
The  old  Jeannette  was  doomed.  She  had  fought  a  good 
fight,  as  her  battered  sides  showed,  but  this  last  hug  was  too 
much  for  her.  After  the  smash,  no  sound  save  the  silent 
rush  of  water.  This  silence,  after  the  unearthly  humming, 
was  the  saddest  part  of  all.  She  had  been  stabbed  in  her 
vitals  and  was  settling  fast.  The  men  worked  with  a  will ; 
everybody  did  ;  life  hung  in  the  balance.  Seaman  Star, 
noble  fellow,  stood  below  with  the  water  up  to  his  waist, 
passing  out  provisions  until  ordered  out  by  the  captain.  To- 
day I  know  not  where  he  is.  The  Jeannette  contained  many 
such  men  in  her  crew.  Good  seamen  all.  But  'silence  and 
oblivion,  like  the  waves,  have  rolled  over  them,  and  none 
can  tell  the  story  of  their  end.' 

After  getting  boats  and  provisions  on  the  ice,  about  mid- 
night, camp  was  pitched,  a  watch  set  and  the  tired  party 
turned  in,  soon  to  be  turned  out  again  by  the  opening  of  the 
ice  under  the  sleepers  in  the  captain's  tent.  All  hands 
helped  shift  to  a  safer  place,  and  about  1.30  A.  M.,  June  12th, 
turned  in  again.  At  this  time  the  Jeannette  was  heeled 
over,  so  the  yard-arms  were  against  the  ice  and  starboard 
rail  under  water.  4  About  twenty  minutes  before  the  watch 
from  our  tent  was  called,  I  heard  a  noise  which  must  have 
been  the  ship  as  she  went  down.  I  looked  out  soon  after 
and  she  was  gone,  her  requiem  being  the  melancholy  howl 
of  a  single  dog.  Only  a  few  floating  articles  marked  the 
place.  Insignificant  as  the  Jeannette  was  in  comparison 
to  the  ice,  her  disappearance  made  a  great  change  in  the 
scene.  During  her  existence  there  was  always  something 


A  DRKARY  BLANK. 


307 


animated  to  turn  to  and  look  at,  but  now  all  is  a  dreary 
blank/  I  have  seen  far  heavier  grinding  than  that  which 
crushed  the  Jeannette,  but  the  ship  is  not  yet  built  that  can 
stand  such  hugging. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

MR    NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 

(CONTINUED). 

NEXT  morning  our  camp  presented  the  appearance  of  a 
family  who  had  broken  up  housekeeping  in  a  hurry, 
as  in  fact  we  had.  But  excellent  spirits  prevailed.  One  of 
the  sailors  handed  some  stuffed  decoys  of  mine  to  the  cook 
for  the  captain's  party.  He  commenced  plucking  the  feath- 
ers before  finding  out  the  joke. 

Our  life  for  the  next  week  was  spent  in  getting  ready  for 
our  retreat.  Much  of  the  time  was  spent  in  sewing,  and 
some  droll  looking  but  very  sensible  costumes  were  com- 
pleted. Our  tents  were  numbered,  and  over  the  door  of  ours 
was  the  word  '  Welcome.'  The  boats  and  provision  sleds 
were  named.  The  first  cutter  was  named  the  Jeannette,  and 
bore  a  beautiful  silk  ensign.  The  second  cutter,  Mr.  Chipp's 
boat,  was  named  Hiram  ;  and  Mr.  Danenhower's  boat  was 
named  Rosy.  Our  sleds  were  named  Sylvie,  Etta  L.,  Lizzie, 
and  Maud.  One  other  bore  the  motto, '  In  hoc  signo  vinces? 

In  consequence  of  the  stronger  light  during  the  day,  it 
was  decided  to  march  nights  and  sleep  daytime.  This  was 
accordingly  done  and  proved  a  good  thing ;  and  many  a 
comfortable  sleep  I  enjoyed  after  a  hard  night's  work,  either 
dragging  with  the  men,  or  afterward  with  pick  and  shovel 
building  roads. 

The  ice  during  the  first  of  our  tramp  was  very  bad, — often 
one  or  two  miles  being  all  we  could  make  in  a  night's  work, 
and  during  the  first  week  we  drifted  back  twenty-four  miles. 
From  this  time  until  I  reached  the  Tunguse  settlement  I 
hardly  knew  what  dry  feet  were,  and  often  was  wet  through, 
— clothing,  sleeping  gear  and  all.  During  the  march  over 

(308) 


THE    ICE   IN    JULY.  809 

the  ice  I  saw  a  number  of  gulls  (5.  rosea),  but  was  not  able 
to  secure  any. 

Our  Fourth  of  July  this  year  was  passed  in  hard  work, 
but  we  were  all  glad  to  be  able  to  do  it.  On  the  9th  I  first 
saw  the  land,  which  afterward  was  landed  on  and  named 
Bennett  Island.  By  July  16th  most  of  the  floe  was  old  ice, 
the  younger  having  disappeared  both  by  breaking  up  and 
thawing.  The  proportion  of  water  to  ice  had  much  increas- 
ed. Occasionally  a  seal  was  shot  by  Mr.  Collins  and 
Mr.  Dunbar,  and  on  the  20th  Mr.  Collins  shot  a 


A  SUCCESSFUL  HUNTER. 

walrus  which  was  afterwards  secured  by  Mr.  Dunbar  in  a 
very  plucky  manner.  The  fresh  meat  was  very  acceptable, 
and  the  blubber  made  good  fuel.  The  boiled  skin  was  not 
unlike  tough  tripe  or,  better  yet,  pig's  feet,  and  with  vinegar 
I  think  would  be  very  good.  As  we  journeyed  toward  land 
the  number  of  birds  increased,  among  them  kittiwake  and 
ivory  gulls,  guillemots  (  U.  grylle)  and  (  U.  Brunichii).  The 
gulls  (J£.  tridactyla)  were  most  numerous. 

The  ice  July  24th  was  very  lively,  moving  in  circles  as  if 
the  pack  was  being  jammed  and  pushed  by  the  land.  On 
the  26th,  at  intervals  when  the  fog  lifted,  I  could  with  a 


310 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


glass  see  the  gulls  sitting  on  the  cliffs.  Light  showers  this 
evening,  with  the  ice  churning  in  every  direction.  Sound- 
ings to-day  in  thirteen  fathoms ;  murres  and  guillemots  were 
much  more  numerous,  being  often  seen  with  food  in  their 
beaks  flying  toward  the  shore.  A  good  deal  of  fog  prevailed 
at  this  time. 

On  Friday,  July  29th,  after  dinner,  the  fog  suddenly  lifted, 
disclosing  the  high  cliffs  of  the  land  close  at  hand.     This  is 


ANNEXATION  OF  BENNETT  ISLAND. 

a  magnificent,  though  desolate,  land  of  rushing  torrents, 
glaciers  and  huge,  impregnable,  rocky  fastnesses.  After 
lively  work  we  reached  grounded  ice  near  the  southeast  part 
of  the  island.  Here  were  high  basaltic  crags  of  indescrib- 
able grandeur.  The  birds  at  this  place  were  in  great  num- 
bers, the  rocks  being  whitened  with  their  manure.  They 
were  coming  and  going  all  the  time,  day  and  night,  cackling, 
chattering  and  laughing  like  parrots.  With  all  this  was  a 
buzzing  sound,  as  if  from  an  enormous  swarm  of  bees. 


A    WALK    AMONG   THE   BIRDS.  311 

These  birds  were  U.  Brunichii.  U.  grylle  were  very  com- 
mon, but  scatter  more  when  nesting. 

Our  camp  at  this  time  \^ts  within  fifty  or  sixty  yards  of 
the  shore  on  the  grounded  ice.  This  evening  after  supper 
all  hands  were  called,  and  headed  by  the  captain,  who  carried 
the  American  ensign,  marched  ashore.  After  all  were  ga- 
thered about,  the  captain  said : — 

"  The  land  we  have  been  working  for  so  long  is  a  new  dis- 
covery. I  take  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  name  this  land  Bennett  Island.  I 
call  for  three  cheers." 

They  were  given.  Then  the  captain,  turning  to  Mr.  Chipp, 
said : — 

"  Mr.  Chipp,  give  all  hands  all  the  liberty  you  can  on 
American  soil." 

I  took  a  short  ramble.  The  next  day  I  went  off  with  gun 
and  note-book.  Sunshine  and  fog,  with  light  southerly* airs. 
I  noticed  a  rapid  current  by  the  shore  here,  with  a  tid^fall 
of  some  two  feet.  The  tidal  observations  were  conducted 
near  camp,  beside  a  big  rock,  which,  from  its  shape,  was 
christened  the  '  rudder/ 

My  walk  was  past  this  rock  to  try  and  reach  the  places 
where  the  murres  and  guillemots  were.  I  climbed  up  some 
twelve  hundred  feet  over  very  treacherous  disintegrated 
rocks.  I  found  the  birds  in  all  stages,  from  the  nestling  to 
two-thirds  grown.  The  murres  sat  in  long  rows  like  the 
citizens  of  <  Cranberry  Centre '  at  '  town  meeting/  and  were 
very  noisy.  The  guillemots  nest  very  prettily.  Fancy  some 
pinnacled  rocks  of  a  rich,  warm  brown  cropping  out  from  a 
mountain  side,  on  top  of  these  small  patches  of  short,  beau- 
tiful green  vegetation,  and  you  have  the  spot.  Place  a  coal 
black  bird  with  white  wing  patches  and  bright  red  feet  on 
this  green  cushion,  silently  watching  the  intruder,  and  the 
picture  is  complete,  unless  you  can  fancy  a  pure  white  gull 
flying  past,  and  its  voice  echoing  from  crag  to  crag. 

My  ascent  of  this  place  was  comparatively  easy,  though 


312  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

the  way  was  steep;  but  the  descent  was  a  difficult  and 
dangerous  one.  I  had  in  many  places  to  dig  places  for  my 
feet  with  my  hands,  and  then  by  burying  my  sheath-knife  to 
the  hilt  in  this  very  insecure  holding  ground,  let  myself 
down.  In  one  place  I  lost  my  grip  and  down  I  went  some 
twenty  feet,  fortunately  bringing  up  unharmed  save  torn 
clothes  and  hands.  In  another  place  when  half  way  down 
a  voice  sung  out, '  Look  out,  sir ! '  I  did  so,  and  saw  an  ava- 
lanche of  huge  rocks  and  earth  coming  for  me.  Seeing  a 
chance  of  safety  behind  an  out-cropping  crag,  I  hastily  avail- 
ed myself  of  it,  but  barely  in  time,  as  these  missiles  of  death 
hurtled  down.  My  companion  said  he  never  expected  to  get 
out  of  it  alive.  That  and  many  other  narrow  shaves  I  have 
since  weathered,  but  my  companion  of  that  day  is  gone. 
Sharvell  was  a  good  fellow,  always  in  excellent  spirits,  and 
contributed  much  toward  the  welfare  of  our  camp  life. 

The  next  day  the  men  by  throwing  stones  got  125  murres, 
which  were  very  acceptable  as  fresh  food.  Two  days  after 
this  I  shot  forty-one  more,  shooting  from  a  wild,  dangerous 
place  some  seven  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  It  seemed  as 
if  the  vibration  of  the  report  must  cause  the  disintegrated 
rocks  to  fall.  The  1st  of  August  I  took  another  tramp  of 
some  seven  or  eight  miles,  and  visited  the  most  extensive 
breeding  ground  I  have  ever  seen  of  any  bird.  There  were 
gulls,  murres,  and  guillemots  in  thousands,  and  at  the  report 
of  my  gun  they  came  out  into  the  air  so  thickly  as  to  darken 
the  sun  and  almost  make  me  think  the  walls  of  rocks  were 
falling.  Their  noise  drowned  conversation.  Kittiwakes 
were  the  most  common.  I  got  within  six  or  eight  feet  of 
some  on  their  nests  without  their  offering  to  leave.  I  fairly 
envied  these  beautiful  creatures  their  cosy  home.  The  land 
here  sloped  at  an  angle  of  some  fifty  degrees,  from  which 
rugged  rocks  cropped  out,  and  above  which  they  towered, 
high  trap  ledges  with  red  lichen  in  masses. 

One  place  I  passed  that  was  most  interesting.  It  was  a 
rising  valley,  which  receded  gradually  from  the  seashore.  A 
fine  stream  of  water  was  here,  clear  and  cold.  About  half 


IN   INTERESTING   VALLEY. 


313 


way  up  this  valley  a  mass  of  pinnacled  rocks  arose  like  some 
great  castle  of  olfl.  Probably  mine  was  the  first  human 
foot  ever  there,  and  as  I  stood  looking  I  almost  expected  to 
see  some  gigantic  knight  appear  and  ask  how  or  by  what 
right  I  dared  invade  his  realm.  The  results  of  this  trip 
were  some  eggs  and  birds,  and  a  nice  lot  of  scurvy  grass. 
This  last  added  relish  to  our  food. 


CAIRN  ON  BENNETT  ISLAND. 

During  the  night  of  August  3d  a  heavy  land  slide  occur- 
red. Great  rocks  hurled  themselves  down  the  mountain 
side,  and,  bounding  off  into  the  air,  struck  the  water  below, 
lashing  it  into  foam  and  sending  the  spray  fifty  feet  into  the 
air.  A  cairn  was  built  by  Mr.  D unbar  and  some  of  the 
sailors  on  the  southern  side  of  the  island.  A  paddle  was 
stuck  on  top  of  it.  It  is  situated  about  one  hundred  feet 
above  sea  level. 

On  Saturday,  August  6th,  in  the  forenoon,  we  left  this 
place  and  started  south  in  our  boats.  In  consequence  of  the 
19 


314 


THK   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


shaking  up  which  the  boats  got  while  being  hauled  over  the 
ice,  they  leaked  badly.  Pumping  and  baling  had  to  be  done 
about  every  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes.  'This  was  kept  up 
until  we,  in  the  whale-boat,  reached  the  Tunguse  village. 
On  August  16th,  Mr.  Collins  called  my  attention  to  land  at 
the  southwest.  Some  birds  and  seals  were  seen,  also  an  oc- 
casional walrus  and  bearded  seal.  Soundings  were  had  in 
nineteen  fathoms.  On  the  17th  there  was  more  water  in 
sight  than  I  had  seen  for  two  years.  On  the  20th  the  land 
was  very  plain,  and  the  ice  packed  as  if  jammed  by  some- 


SEAL  AND  SEAL-HOLE. 

thing.  This  packing  afterward  caused  us  to  be  delayed  ten 
days.  From  this  trying  situation  we  were  released  on  Tues- 
day, August  30th.  On  the  evening  of  this  day  we  made  a 
landing  on  Thaddeus  Island,  one  of  the  Liakhof  group. 

After  eating  my  scanty  supper  of  pemmican  I  started  out, 
gun  in  hand,  for  a  walk.  I  saw  the  long  tailed  duck  (#. 
glacialis)  in  large  flocks,  also  some  eiders ;  but  glacialis  was 
the  most  common  species  I  noticed  while  among  these  isl- 
ands. I  also  saw  fresh  .tracks  of  reindeer  and  foxes,  and 
two  bones  (tibia  and  fibula)  of  a  mammoth.  These  I 


AMONG   THE   ISLANDS 


817 


shouldered  and  carried  back  to  camp.  They  were  all  I  could 
carry  with  my  gun,  three  ducks  (H.  glacialis)  and  twelve 
sanderling  (<7.  arenaria). 

On  September  4th  we  had  to  haul  out  of  a  bad  pocket  and 
over  the  ice  about  two  miles.  Launching  again  we,  after  a 
wet  passage,  reached  a  shoal  about  southeast  of  Kotelnoi  Isl- 
and. Found  plenty  of  driftwood, — so  pitched  camp  and 
partially  dried  our-  clothing.  I  got  some  birds  here,  eider 


ARCTIC  DUCKS. 

ducks,  gulls,  and  paiaropes,  which  came  in  handy  for  food. 
No  seals  were  seen.  The  flora  of  Bennett  Island,  Thaddeus 
and  Kotelnoi  are  much  the  same.  Kotelnoi  on  its  south- 
eastern part  is  moderately  high,  with  a  small  beach  in  places. 
While  passing  along  the  shore  would  be  seen  at  intervals  a 
large  white  owl  (Nyctea  nivea),  sitting  silent  and  alone. 

After  leaving  Kotelnoi,  on  the  night  of  September  7th,  we 
experienced  a  severe  gale,  several  times  shipping  very  heavy 


818  THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

seas,  one  of  which  all  hands  thought  would  swamp  us.  Sea- 
man Leach  did  noble  work  that  night,  so  did  seaman  Wil- 
son. The  night  was  very  dark,  and  the  danger  of  our  posi- 
tion was,  owing  to  the  floating  pieces  of  ice,  much  increased. 
We  had  to  bale  for  our  lives.  To  have  struck  one  of  these 
ice  pieces  would  have  been  death.  Our  escape  was  miracu- 
lous, as  we  were  running  very  rapidly. 

On  Saturday  forenoon,  September  10th,  we  landed  on  Semen- 
offski  Island,  got  some  food  and  fresh  water,  and,  after  din- 
ner, pushed  off,  some  of  the  party,  with  rifles,  proceeding 
overland  to  the  southern  end  of  the  island.  Two  reindeer 
were  started,  one  of  which  being  shot  we  again  landed  and 
remained  until  Monday  forenoon.  I  shot  some  gulls,  one 
goose,  two  golden  plover  and  ten  ptarmigan.  Previous  to 
this,  and  between  Thaddeus  and  Kotelnoi,  I  shot  some  twenty 
ducks,  all  of  which  were  excellent  eating. 

Leaving  Semenoffski  on  the  12th,  we  ran  south,  stopping 
beside  an  ice  piece  at  noon  for  dinner.  After  this  we  stood 
on  until  about  four  P.  M.,  when,  in  attempting  to  run  between 
two  pieces  of  ice,  our  boat  stove  a  hole  in  her  starboard 
bilge.  Shoving  a  rag  into  it  we  ran  for  the  captain's  boat, 
told  him  we  were  in  a  sinking  condition,  and  hauled  along- 
side an  ice  piece,  pulled  out,  and,  after  nailing  a  piece  of 
wood  over  the  place,  filled  away  for  the  main  land  of  Siberia, 
distant  perhaps  one  hundred  miles. 

The  wind  and  sea  increased  toward  night,  and  at  dark  we 
lost  sight  of  the  first  and  second  cutters.  Those  two  boats 
contained  twenty-two  men.  Two  of  them — Noros  and  Nin- 
dermann — I  have  seen  since,  but  the  others  I  never  saw 
after  that  night.  During  the  night  it  blew  a  gale  with  a 
terrible  sea.  We  had  to  lay  <  hove  to '  with  a  drag  out  for 
twenty  hours.  Everybody  did  his  utmost,  but  it  seemed  as 
if  every  moment  would  be  our  last.  '  Starting  again  next 
afternoon  we  ran  before  a  heavy  sea ;  but  though  wet,  made 
very  good  weather.  Many  of  us  were  about  used  up  with 
badly  swollen  feet.  No  chance  to  cook  anything  owing  to 
tossing  of  the  boat. 


ON  LAND  ONCE  MORE. 


319 


On  Friday,  September  16th,  after  a  very  hard  day  amid 
shoals  and  bad  tide-rips,  we  succeeded  in  finding  a  dilapi- 
dated hut  on  one  of  the  mouths  of  the  Lena  River.  We 
were  wet  through,  and  so  stiff  as  to  be  scarcely  able  to 
walk.  But  we  were  ashore  again  on  the  big  land,  and 
that  was  enough.  Our  water  gave  out  about  two  days  be- 
fore this,  thus  thirst  was  added  to  our  hunger ;  but  after 
getting  into  the  river  we  got  plenty  of  this  necessary  article, 
and  no  nectar  that  I  ever  quaffed  tasted  like  it. 

I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  stopping  at  numerous  good 
hotels  since  the  Friday  night  above  referred  to,  but  not  one 
of  them  seemed  as  luxurious  as  did  that  old  hut,  and  our 
meal  of  pemmican  on  that  night. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI. 

MR    NEWCOMB'S   NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

SOME  of  us  hobbled  around  and  gathered  fire  wood,  after 
which,  beside  a  good  fire,  we  discussed  the  comfort  of 
the  situation  and  obtained  a  little  sleep.  We  remained  here 
till  the  next  forenoon  when,  about  11  o'clock,  we  got  things 
into  our  boat  and  started  up  the  river.  While  here  we  saw 
numbers  of  geese  and  ducks,  but  I  was  so  lame  I  could  not 
get  round  to  shoot  any  of  them.  We  were  very  much  in 
need  of  fresh  food,  but  could  not,  under  the  circumstances, 
procure  it,  though  we  afterwards  got  some  ducks  and  a  few 
gulls.  The  geese  were  in  flocks  together  as  if  about  ready  to 
migrate,  and  there  were  also  some  swans  on  the  sand  spits  as 
we  passed  along. 

On  September  19th  we  turned  out  before  sunrise,  and 
after  eating  our  frugal  meal  of  pemmican  we  continued  up 
the  river.  After  working  all  the  forenoon  we  stopped  and 
got  a  little  dinner,  landing  on  a  point  where  we  found  signs 
of  very  recent  occupation.  Just  after  this,  about  one  P.  M., 
while  Mr.  Danenhower  was  taking  some  compass  observa- 
tions, three  objects  were  descried  or  seen  appearing  around 
the  left  bank  of  the  same  river.  These  soon  proved  to  be 
human  beings — the  first  natives  seen  outside  of  our  crew 
for  over  two  years.  They  were  a  little  afraid  of  us  at  first, 
and  would  not  land,  stopping  in  their  canoes  or  veatkas ; 
but  by  making  signs  to  them  we  induced  them  to  come 
ashore,  after  which  we  gave  them  a  little  pemmican  to  eat 
as  an  evidence  of  our  good  will ;  but  they  would  not  touch 
it  until  I  had  tasted  it  and  showed  them  that  it  was  good. 
I  also  showed  them  various  other  things  that  I  had,  and  gave 

(3203 


FRIENDLY   NATIVES.  §23 

them  some  little  buttons.  We  then  made  signs  to  them  that 
we  were  very  hungry,  and  they  brought  us  a  small  piece  of 
reindeer,  one  old  goose,  and  a  fish,  which  was  all  the  provi- 
sion that  they  had  with  them  at  that  time.  There  being 
plenty  of  drift-wood  on  the  shores  of  the  river,  we  soon  got 
a  fire  going  and  a  stew  under  way. 

While  our  stew  was  in  process  of  cooking  we  showed  the 
natives  our  rifles,  and  shot  them  off  once  or  twice  to  show 
them  what  they  were.  I  also  charged  my  shot-gun,  a  breech- 
loader, and  fired  at  a  piece  of  wood,  and  they  were  very 
much  interested  to  see  the  manner  in  which  the  small  shot 
were  distributed ;  they  seemed  to  think  that  it  would  kill  a 
duck  very  nicely.  The  manner  of  loading  was  the  subject 
of  much  discussion.  They  handled  this  gun  almost  rever- 
ently. 

Perhaps  a  short  description  of  these  natives  will  not  be 
out  of  place.  As  soon  as  they  came  near  so  that  we  could 
hail  them,  they  bared  their  heads,  bowed,  and  devoutly 
crossed  themselves.  In  stature  they  were  small,  complexion 
dark  and  swarthy,  with  straight  black  hair.  They  had  very 
good  features,  and  were  of  comparatively  happy  dispositions. 
Their  names,  as  we  afterward  learned,  were  Theodore,  Tomat, 
and  Caranie.  Tomat  was  a  young  fellow  and  quite  a  dandy ; 
his  clothing  .seemed  to  fit  neater  than  that  of  the  others. 
He  had  some  ornaments  about  him,  including  tobacco 
pouches  and  a  fancy  pipe,  and  little  copper  ornaments  for 
holding  up  his  leggings ;  and  knee-pads  made  of  loon-skin, 
which  he  afterwards  told  me  were  of  use  to  protect  the  knees 
when  crawling  over  the  ground  after  game.  This  idea  I 
would  recommend  to  sportsmen. 

Without  waiting  for  our  stew  to  get  as  thoroughly  cooked 
as  some  perhaps  would  have  liked  it,  we  arranged  some  logs 
in  a  semi-circle  and  sat  down  without  formality.  This  meal, 
the  first  fresh  food  which  we  had  tasted  for  a  long  time,  was 
indeed  good,  and  though  the  goose  was  very  tough,  we 
rapidly  devoured  it,  and  soon  the  pot  was  empty. 

I  showed  our  new-found  friends  some  photographs  which 


324  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

I  had,  and  they  seemed  much  interested  in  them.  They  ap- 
peared not  to  understand  how  they  were  made,  and  evidently 
took  them  for  pictures  of  saints,  as  they  crossed  themselves 
at  sight  of  each  one.  They  were,  in  reality,  photographs  of 
friends  at  home. 

After  we  had  concluded  our  meal  we,  by  signs,  induced 
the  natives  to  pilot  us  up  the  river,  and  they  conducted  us  to 
a  point  where  five  huts  and  a  grave-yard  were  located.  This 
place  proved  to  be  a  small  summer  hunting  station,  and  we 
subsequently  discovered  that  our  friends  were  Tunguses. 
We  hauled  up  for  the  night,  and  the  natives  set  their  nets 
and  caught  some  fish  which  they  gave  us. 

These  nets,  by  the  way,  are  worth  describing.  They  are 
made  of  horse-hair,  with  stones  fastened  to  little  hoops  of 
wood  for  sinkers,  and  also  to  keep  the  net  from  coming  in 
contact  with  the  rough  bottom.  They  are  set  like  a  gill  net, 
anchored  at  each  end,  and  floated  on  the  surface  by  means 
of  rolls  of  birch  bark.  I  afterwards  procured  one  of  the 
same  kind  of  nets,  but  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  use  it. 

We  stayed  at  this  place  until  the  next  morning,  enjoying 
an  excellent  fish  stew,  although  it  was  made  without  season- 
ing, and  we  had  no  bread.  The  natives  partook  of  it  with 
us.  They  were  very  devout  in  rising  and  crossing  them- 
selves, and  shaking  hands  with  and  thanking  us  after  the 
meal,  and  they  seemed  to  regard  us  as  a  race  of  beings  su- 
perior to  themselves.  One  of  them  was  very  poorly  clad,  his 
boots  were  full  of  holes,  and  wet  straw  in  the  bottom  of 
them  took  the  place  of  stockings.  His  feet  appeared  to 
have  been  severely  frozen  at  some  previous  time  of  life.  I 
gave  the  poor  fellow  a  pair  of  stockings,  for  which  he  seemed 
to  be  very  grateful.  His  way  of  using  them  was  quite  amu- 
sing, for  he  pulled  off  his  boots,  put  on  the  stockings,  and 
then  seemed  to  consider  his  foot-gear  complete.  He  ap- 
peared not  to  know  the  correct  use  of  such  things. 

I  had  at  this  place  the  pleasure  of  smoking  a  native  pipe 
with  Russian  tobacco,  and  at  their  earnest  solicitations  I 
took  snuff  with  the  natives.  This  snuff  was  of  a  very  good 


NATIVE   CUSTOMS.  325 

quality  ;  they  seemed  to  prize  it  highly,  and  kept  it  in  small 
ingeniously-constructed  wooden  boxes. 

Their  pipes  are  rather  long,  and  the  stem  is  made  of  two 
pieces  of  wood,  which  can  be  taken  apart  and  cleansed, 
lashed  together  by  a  thong  of  leather  or  fish  skin.  The 
bowls  are  cast  of  brass  or  lead,  or  whittled  out  of  deer  horn, 
and  hold  a  thimbleful  of  tobacco,  or  only  enough  for  a  few 
whiffs.  They  have  flints  and  steel  for  lighting,  which  are 
not  only  less  expensive  than  matches,  but  surer  in  wet  or 
windy  weather.  They  carry  the  flint  and  steel  in  a  small 
bag  with  "  punk "  or  tinder,  and  the  tobacco  in  another 
small  bag,  both  of  which  are  suspended  at  the  side  by  a  belt 
and  leathern  thong.  Their  knives  are  of  iron,  home  made, 
or  obtained  from  traders  further  south.  They  carry  them 
in  the  boot-leg  or  lashed  to  the  outside  of  the  thigh  in  a 
fancifully-carved  and  highly  ornamented  wooden  sheath, 
sometimes  stained  red  or  blue.  Their  moccasins  and 
trousers  are  snug  and  very  neatly  made.  Their  caps  in 
shape  resemble  hoods,  and  though  designed  for  service  are 
still  quite  ornamental,  particularly  those  made  of  fox-legs 
for  the  children. 

On  Tuesday,  September  20th,  after  making  what  proved 
to  be  a  fruitless  attempt  to  induce  these  natives  to  pilot  us 
on  our  journey,  we  started  without  them  ;  but  after  a  bad  day 
and  stormy  night  we  turned  back  on  the  succeeding  morn- 
ing, and  were  fortunate  in  finding  the  collection  of  huts 
which  we  had  left,  and  also  the  natives,  whose  number  had 
increased  by  the  arrival  of  an  old  man  who  proved  to  be 
friendly  and  a  person  of  good  sense.  It  was  a  most  fortu- 
nate meeting  for  us,  as  we  were  then  on  very  short  rations 
with  only  a  few  days'  more  food ;  and  the  fish  which  they 
gave  us  (I  got  twelve  for  a  small  match-box)  proved  very 
welcome  indeed. 

We  started  from  this  place  again,  September  22d,  accom- 
panied by  the  old  Tunguse,  of  whom  I  have  just  spoken 
(whose  name  I  afterwards  learned  was  Bushielle  Koolgiak), 
and  two  of  the  others,  Theodore  and  Caranie.  On  the 


326  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

24th  we  reached  a  place  now  known  as  Spiridon's  Village, 
where  we  waited  a  while,  and  a  native  was  sent  away  to 
bring  further  assistance  and  some  more  food.  While  here  I 
got  a  few  ptarmigan.  Spiridon  gave  our  party  five  geese, 
packed  one  inside  the  other,  and  all  of  them  boned ;  and 
he  also  gave  me  a  pair  of  moccasins,  which  were  very  handy 
as  my  old  ones  were  much  worn  and  too  small. 

In  consequence  of  the  last  two  days'  paddling,  Bushielle's 
left  arm.  which  had  been  previously  hit  by  a  bullet  at  the 
elbow,  gave  out,  and  prevented  his  going  any  further ;  and  so 
we  took  another  man  in  his  place  and  pushed  on  for  the 
Tunguse  village  of  Geemovialocke,  which  we  reached  on 
the  forenoon  of  Monday,  September  26th.  A  number  of 
men  paddled  out  to  meet  us  before  we  landed.  Among  them 
we  noticed  one  who  proved  afterward  to  be  a  Russian  exile, 
named  Efim  Kopiloff,  and  a  very  good-hearted  fellow  he  was. 
Through  his  assistance  we  procured  numbers  of  fish  and 
geese.  Quite  a  party,  including  men,  women,  and  children, 
assembled  on  shore  to  meet  us,  and  most  droll-looking  people 
they  were.  The  women  were  short,  and  almost  all  of  them 
very  homely ;  but  they  had  good-natured  faces,  and  afterwards 
proved  to  be  very  good  friends  to  us.  They  assisted  in  pull- 
ing up  our  boat,  making  signs  that  if  we  did  not  do  so  it 
would  become  injured,  as  the  river  would  soon  freeze.  Then 
they  brought  sleds  and  dragged  some  of  our  men  who  were 
unable  to  walk  to  the  hut  of  the  commandant  of  the  place, 
whose  name  we  afterwards  learned  was  Nicolai  Shagra.  Here 
we  got  a  good  supper,  the  first  for  a  long  time.  After  this 
we  had  a  real  good  smoke  of  Russian  tobacco,  and  a  lot  of 
tea  with  sugar, — something  which  we  had  not  tasted  for  a  long 
time.  We  were  also  given  as  a  special  delicacy,  a  little  dried 
reindeer  meat  with  a  little  fat  cut  up  in  small  lumps ;  it  was 
very  palatable.  Besides  this,  they  also  cooked  another 
mess  of  fish  for  us,  thinking  that  we  might  not  have  enough 
without  it. 

Two  huts  were  subsequently  assigned  to  us,  and  we  en- 
joyed the  first  comfortable  night's  rest  we  had  had  for  a  long 


LIFE   AT   GEEMOVIALOCKE.  827 

period.  We  were  not  anxious  about  breaking  ice,  or  having 
to  turn  out  to  shift  our  tent.  We  had  not  seen  any  of  our 
comrades  since  the  gale  of  separation,  but  we  one  and  all 
devoutly  hoped  that  they  were  as  well  off  that  night  as  we 
were.  The  next  morning  we  were  assigned  another  house 
to  live  in,  and  we  moved  our  goods  and  chattels  and  went 
to  housekeeping.  We  stayed  in  this  house  a  few  days,  when 
the  native  who  loaned  it  signified  that  he  desired  to  occupy 
it,  and  he  pointed  out  to  us  another  one  which  he  had 
repaired  especially  for  us.  Accordingly  we  moved  into  it, 
and  it  was  our  headquarters  during  the  remainder  of  our 
stay  in  this  village. 

This  hut  or  balogan*,  typical  of  those  seen  in  this  village 
and  some  distance  further  south,  was  some  six  and  a-half  or 
seven  feet  high,  and  twelve  feet  square  inside,  with  a  fire- 
place backing  up  in  front  of  the  door,  which  was  a  small 
one,  opening  out,  and  in  cold  weather  covered  with  skins  to 
keep  in  the  warmth.  These  huts  have  also  outer  wings 
made  like  a  log  cabin,  in  which  are  kept  fuel,  and  various 
articles  of  domestic  use.  The  walls  of  the  living  apart- 
ments are  of  logs  placed  vertically,  with  a  flat  roof  laid  on 
big  log  rafters,  and  outside  of  this  is  a  sodding  of  grass  and 
weeds.  The  windows  are  made  of  blocks  of  ice  cut  when 
six  or  seven  inches  thick,  and  renewed  as  often  as  melted 
through  by  the  inside  heat.  The  head  of  the  hut  abreast 
the  fire  is  the  post  of  honor.  As  a  rule,  the  men  eat  first, 
being  waited  on  by  the  women ;  or,  if  the  women  eat  at  the 
same  time,  it  is  at  a  separate  table. 

The  routine  of  our  life  at  this  time  consisted  in  collecting 
and  splitting  drift-wood  ;  preparing  our  fish  and  birds,  many 
of  which  were  much  decomposed  but  nevertheless  very  wel- 
come ;  sewing ;  some  letter-writing;  keeping  our  journals,  and 
regaining  as  much  as  possible  our  lost  strength ;  also  in 
caring  for  those  who  had  been  badly  injured  by  frost  and 
exposure. 

*A  balogan  is  an  inhabited  native  hut. 


328  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

The  natives  had  once  a  week  what  they  called  a  prosnik — 
a  sort  of  feast,  which  is,  I  think,  of  religious  origin.  The 
people  are  under  the  control  of  the  Russian  Church,  and  in 
each  of  their  huts  I  noticed  a  little  religious  emblem,  placed, 
as  a  rule,  at  the  head  of  the  hut  in  the  left  hand  corner. 
To  these  prosniks  all  in  the  village  were  invited,  and  gen- 
erally came.  The  little  entertainment  consisted  of  drinking 
tea,  and  eating  bits  of  reindeer  meat,  fat,  goose  eggs,  and 
choice  bits  of  fish ;  but  they  ate  and  drank  sparingly,  seem- 
ing to  realize  that  the  supply  would  become  exhausted  if 
used  too  freely.  I  must  confess  that  some  of  the  bits  which 
th'ey  considered  choice,  I  did  not. 

Their  manner  of  preparing  and  drinking  tea. is  perhaps 
worthy  of  note.  They  use  two  little  chyniks,  or  copper  ket- 
tles. One  of  them  will  hold  a  quart;  in  this  they  put  the 
tea.  The  other  will  hold  two  quarts ;  in  this  they  boil  the 
water,  and  then  pour  it  on  to  the  tea,  being  careful  not 
to  boil  the  tea, — only  steeping  it.  The  mistress  of  the  house 
then  serves  the  tea  to  those  partaking  of  it,  who  are  seated 
on  stools  or  other  improvised  seats  around  an  unpamted 
pine  table.  Sugar  is  never  put  in  the  tea,  but  they  nibble  it 
sparingly  and  then  sip  the  tea.  I  saw  no  milk  in  this  village. 

Their  tea  is  the  article  known  in  Siberia  as  brick  tea, 
being,  I  think,  of  an  inferior  quality  to  that  in  use  in  our 
country,  and  much  inferior  to  the  famous  caravan  tea  found 
in  other  parts  of  Siberia  and  in  use  in  some  parts  of  Russia. 

Large,  heavy  German  silver  or  brass  ear-rings  seem  to  be 
highly  prized  by  the  native  women,  as  also  are  brass  buttons, 
calicoes  and  cotton  handkerchiefs  of  bright  colors,  cotton 
cloth  known  as  Turkey  red,  and  black  and  green  cotton 
velvets.  The  undergarments  of  both  males  and  females  of 
all  ages  are  of  calico  or  colored  cotton.  The  outer  clothing- 
is  of  deerskin,  with  the  hair  taken  off  in  the  summer ;  and  in 
the  winter  with  the  hair  on.  In  moderately  cold  weather 
the  clothing  is  worn  with  the  hair  inside,  but  in  extreme  cold 
weather  the  hair  is  outside.  The  soles  of  their  moccasins 
are  of  deerskin.  They  use  blankets  and  bags  made  of  fish 


KUSMAH,   THE    EXILE.  329 

skin,  and,  when  walking  on  slippery  ice,  over-shoes  of  the 
same  material,  which  give  quite  a  secure  footing.  They 
seemed  not  to  be  acquainted  with  seal-skin,  and  prized  small 
pieces  which  1  gave  them  very  highly. 

The  natives  at  this  settlement  occupy  themselves  in  fishing 
and  hunting.  Men  and  women  attend  the  nets,  and  the 
women  are  often  seen  bringing  in  the  fish,  drawing  water  and 
cutting  wood,  and  repairing  fish-nets,  dog-harnesses,  and  such 
things.  Some  of  the  women  are  very  skillful  sewers,  and 
set  a  great  value  on  thimbles  and  steel  needles.  They  make 
the  clothing,  including  moccasins.  The  men  hunt  with 
flint-lock  rifles  of  small  bore,  and  also  use  bows  and  arrows 
for  killing  geese,  which  they  do  at  the  time  of  year  when 
these  birds  are  moulting. 

On  the  27th  of  September  we  started  to  leave  these  people, 
under  the  guidance  of  one  native  and  the  Russian  exile 
whom  I  have  mentioned  before  ;  but,  owing  to  bad  weather 
and  shoal  water,  we  were  obliged  to  turn  back  and  seek  again 
their  kindness  and  hospitality.  A  few  days  before  this  we 
had  light  snows,  which  indicated  that  winter  was  near  at 
hand.  On  the  28th  the  river  was  frozen  nearly  across. 

One  day  early  in  October  another  Russian  exile,  Kusmah 
Eremoff,  made  his  appearance  in  the  village.  I  discovered 
him  and  took  him  to  our  hut,  that  Lieutenant  Danenhower 
and  Mr.  Melville  might  see  him.  They  made  arrangements 
for  him  to  go  to  Bulun  to  communicate  with  the  authorities 
there.  This  man  was  absent  much  longer  than  anticipated. 
The  result  of  this  trip  was  that  he  brought  back  information 
that  the  Commandant  of  Bulun  would  be  at  our  village  in 
a  few  days,  and  also  a  brief  note  from  Nindermann  and 
Noros  announcing  that  the  first  cutter  party  had  landed ; 
that  Nindermann  and  Noros  had  reached  Bulun ;  that  the 
captain's  party  was  in  need  of  clothing  and  assistance,  and 
so  had  sent  these  two  men  qn  in  advance. 

Kusmah  brought  with  him  forty  pounds  of  black  bread, 
about  three  pounds  of  very  poor  unsalted  butter,  some  salt 
which  we  very  much  needed,  about  twelve  ounces  of  sugar, 


330 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


some  tobacco,  and  some  dry  black  bread  cut  in  small  pieces, 
from  the  Pope  at  Bulun,  with  a  note  which  was  translated  to 
us,  and  which  stated  that  this  bread  and  tobacco  was  for  "  the 
gentlemen  who  were  traveling  around  the  world."  This  was 
during  the  latter  part  of  October — about  the  28th.  Previous 
to  this  Lieutenant  Danenhower  had  made  search,  with  the 
help  of  some  of  the  natives,  for  traces  of  the  two  missing 
boats  and  crews,  but  without  success. 


OUR  DEPARTURE  FROM  GEEMOVIALOCKE. 

Mr.  Melville,  after  receiving  this  information,  started  on 
Sunday,  the  30th,  with  Bushelle  Koolgiak,  for  Bulun,  to  do 
what  he  could  for  the  other  wrecked  people  and  for  us,  leav- 
ing Danenhower  to  follow  with  the  rest  of  the  party  as  soon 
as  he  could. 

On  Tuesday  Nov.  1st  the  commandant  from  Bulun  arrived. 
He  brought  a  letter  from  Nindermann  and  Noros,  which  was 
directed  to  the  Minister  Resident  at  St.  Petersburg.  This 
letter  Danenhower  immediately  sent  by  fireman  James  H. 
Bartlett  to  Mr.  Melville  at  Bulun.  Lieutenant  Danenhower 


A    START    FOR   BULUN. 


331 


explained  our  situation  to  the  commandant,  and  the  result 
was,  that  after  some  parley,  on  Thursday,  Nov.  3d,  we 
started  on  eleven  dog  sleds  for  Bulun,  under  the  charge  of 
the  commandant  who  had  collected  from  the  natives  for  our 
use  supplies  of  comfortable  fur  clothing,  including  moccasins, 
hoods,  and  mittens. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

MR  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

traveled  by  dogs  as  far  as  Kumak  Surka,  and  from 
that  place  to  Bulun  we  traveled  by  deer.  At  Kumak 
Surka  we  met  Mr.  Melville,  who  was  now  on  his  way  north 
with  some  supplies  to  render  what  assistance  he  could  to  the 
captain's  party.  He  took  old  Bushielle  back  with  him. 

Bidding  good-bye  to  Melville  at  this  place,  we  started  on 
and  arrived  at  Bulun  on  Sunday,  Nov.  6th,  about  six  o'clock, 
A.M.,  after  a  very  rough  journey,  chilled  through  and  hungry. 
We  had  often  been  obliged  to  run  beside  the  sleds  to  keep 
from  freezing.  I  attended  service  in  the  forenoon  at  the 
Russian  church. 

Bulun  is  the  northernmost  Russian  settlement  in  Siberia. 
It  is  a  trading  station  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Lena  River. 
It  consists  of  one  church,  a  lot  of  log  houses  plastered  out- 
side with  mud,  and  a  trading  store  with  store-houses. 
Everything  here  in  the  way  of  food  and  clothing  is  very 
expensive.  Sugar  is  fifty  cents  a  pound ;  cotton  handker- 
chiefs fifty  cents  each.  Even  fuel  is  scarce,  though  coal  is 
said  to  be  found  in  this  vicinity.  While  here  some  knives, 
handkerchiefs,  and  calico  for  towels  were  furnished  us ;  also 
some  leaf  tobacco. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  accommodations  for  our  whole  party 
traveling  together  from  Bulun,  we  divided.  Part  of  us  with 
Lieutenant  Danenhower  left  here  for  Werchoiansk,  on  the 
Yana  River,  by  deer  sleds,  on  Saturday  evening,  November 
12th,  accompanied  by  five  natives  to  drive  our  deer.  The 
distance  was  900  versts,  or  about  600  miles. 

Crossing  over  very  rough  and  badly  jammed  up  ice  in  the 

(332) 


AGAIN   ON   THE   ROAD. 


333 


river,  we  caine  to  a  povarnia,  where  we  stopped  for  the  night, 
some  fifteen  versts  from  Bulun.  The  povarnia  is  a  rough 
log  hut,  with  benches  around  the  sides  of  the  interior,  upon 
which  you  lay  your  deer-skins  to  sleep  on  ;  in  the  middle  is 
a  raised  fire-place,  with  a  hole — or  sometimes  a  chimney, 
made  of  wood  and  plastered  with  mud — for  the  smoke  to 
pass  out.  They  are  uninhabited,  and  are  kept  in  repair  by 


GOOD-BYE  TO  BULUN. 

the  travelers  who  pass  through  the  country,  and  are  found 
scattered  all  over  Siberia.  Although  we  were  now  traveling 
by  post  road,  still  it  was  a  very  crooked,  rough,  and  uneven 
route,  being  in  most  places  only  a  little  foot-path  like  a  cow- 
path  in  our  pastures  at  home.  Our  sleds  often  came  to  grief 
by  reason  of  contact  with  stumps  of  trees,  or  being  over- 
turned against  the  ice.  The  natives  display  much  skill  in 
repairing  their  sleds,  which  are  lashed  together  and  not 
nailed,  and  made  of  soft  wood.  In  traveling  long  distances 
they  carry  spare  runners  to  repair  accidents. 
20 


334  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

On  Sunday,  Nov.  13th,  after  considerable  delay  in  catching 
the  reindeer,  which  was  done  by  lassooing  them  among  the 
woods  where  they  had  been  allowed  to  go  to  browse,  we 
resumed  our  journey.  After  traveling  all  day  and  crossing 
some  mountains  where  the  snow  blew  fiercely  in  our  faces, 
(some  of  the  party  were  lashed  fast  to  their  sleds)  and 
making  about  seventy  versts,  we  stopped  for  the  night  at  a 
rude  povarnia,  full  of  cracks  and  holes.  In  the  morning  we 
started  again.  On  the  next  day  Mr.  Danenhower  shot  a  fine 
young  reindeer  which  proved  an  important  acquisition  to 
our  larder.  The  next  night  we  lost  our  road,  after  traveling 
nearly  one  hundred  versts,  and  had  much  difficulty  in  finding 
it  again.  We  were  very  tired  when  we  reached  a  povarnia, 
and  after  a  meal  of  deer  meat  and  black  bread  we  turned  in 
to  sleep. 

On  Friday,  November  18th,  we  made  sixty  versts,  and 
reached  a  stansea,  where  we  found  people  living,  and  where 
we  procured  a  change  of  diet.  A  stansea  differs  from  a 
povarnia  insomuch  as  it  is  more  substantially  built  of  logs, 
and  occupied.  This  stansea  was  a  place  of  two  houses,  with 
a  yard  and  fences  made  of  small  trees.  Here  were  a  num- 
ber of  cows,  small,  scrubby  little  animals  ;  their  milk  was 
very  nice  indeed.  We  obtained  a  lot  of  frozen  milk  to  take 
along  with  us.  I  saw  five  white  horses  and  one  bull  at  this 
place. 

On  the  next  day,  about  noon,  we  started  again,  and  after 
a  very  cold  ride  of  sixty  versts  reached  a  balogan,  or  native 
hut,  where  comfortable  quarters  awaited  us.  A  fine-looking 
young  Russian,  an  exile,  occupied  this  place,  and  I  exchanged 
with  him  a  seal  ring  for  new  mittens  and  a  fine  pair  of  moc- 
casins. The  next  day,  Sunday,  we  made  only  a  short  run  of 
forty  versts  over  very  good  roads,  reaching  before  dark  a 
small  povarnia  where  we  stopped  for  the  night.  On  Monday 
we  started  off  in  a  snow  storm,  but  it  stopped  about  noon,  at 
which  time  we  halted  for  some  hot  tea  at  a  balogan  where 
were  a  number  of  cows  and  several  horses — one  with  a  sad- 


ARRIVAL   AT   WERCHOIANSK.  335 

die  and  bridle  on  which  looked  very  nice  indeed,  although 
the  saddle  was  much  different  from  those  in  use  at  home. 

On  the  24th  we  made  but  a  short  run,  as  our  road  lay 
over  mountains  which  were  steep  and  rocky — so  much  so 
that  we  had  to  walk  in  many  places,  our  drivers  leading  the 
deer.  Along  this  part  of  our  journey  I  noticed,  in  different 
places,  small  bow  traps  set  for  catching  lemming.  These 
lemming  are  used  for  food,  and  the  skins  are  also  utilized. 

On  the  forenoon  of  Sunday,  November  27th,  after  a  tedi- 
ous ride,  we  reached  the  town  of  Werchoiansk  (or  Verkhoy- 
ansk) and  were  taken  to  a  house  where  we  were  received  by 
an  official  in  uniform  and  side  arms.  Our  clothing  was 
kindly  cared  for,  and  we  were  furnished  with  tea  and  pastry, 
and  afterward  with  Russian  cigarettes.  We  were  then  con- 
ducted to  a  room  where  were  several  beds.  These  beds, 
after  our  long  absence,  were  to  us  indeed  a  novel  sight. 

The  house  in  which  we  were  quartered  was  a  very  com- 
fortable-looking one-story  structure,  plastered  inside  and  out, 
and  warmed  by  a  clay  oven.  There  were  five  apartments  on 
one  floor,  and  a  small  cellar.  The  windows  were  of  very 
poor  patched  glass,  with  small  panes  and  heavy  sashes.  The 
outer  windows,  for  such  there  were,  were  slabs  of  ice,  and 
women  came  in  each  morning  to  scrape  off  the  rime  which 
daily  formed  on  the  inside  of  them.  The  cooking  was  done 
at  a  fire-place  built  up  of  clay  and  wood,  over  which  was 
plastered  more  clay,  rendering  it  fire-proof.  A  similar  kind 
of  fire-place,  though  not  as  well  finished,  had  been  common 
for  some  time  along  the  road  as  we  approached  the  town. 

A  supply  of  excellent  tobacco,  pipes,  and  cigarette-paper 
was  furnished  to  us,  and  I  saw  some  cigars,  but  did  not 
smoke  them.  Here  I  met  for  the  first  time  the  famous  Rus- 
sian vodka,  which  is  not  unlike  new  rum.  Here  we  also 
enjoyed  the  luxury  of  sitting  down  to  a  table  to  eat,  and  of 
using  knives,  forks,  and  spoons  in  a  civilized  manner  ;  and  it 
seemed  very  pleasant  after  our  rough  experiences.  We  suc- 
ceeded, also,  in  getting  some  clothing  for  a  portion  of  our 
party. 


336  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Immediately  upon  arising  the  morning  after  our  arrival 
we  were  served  with  tea  and  sweet  bread ;  this  is  an  estab- 
lished Russian  custom,  with  which  I  subsequently  became 
familiar.  Samovars  were  in  use  here,  superseding  the  little 
copper  chyniks  of  the  Tunguses  further  north.  The  samo- 
vars are  the  famous  tea-urns  of  Russia.  And  here  I  will  say 
that  in  no  part  of  the  world  have  I  tasted  tea  so  delicious  in 
flavor  as  that  found  in  Russia ;  and  I  quite  believe,  what  has 
often  been  said,  that  tea  transported  by  ship  loses  much  of 
its  aroma. 

This  village  is  inhabited  largely  by  exiles,  and  it  consists 
of  some  sixty  or  seventy  scattered  dwellings  and  other  build- 
ings, including  a  school-house  and  a  church.  The  ispravnik, 
or  local  governor,  is  a  civil  officer.  A  number  of  Cossack 
soldiers  quartered  here  are  under  the  control  of  another 
officer  who  is  called  the  commandant.  I  met  a  number  of 
political  exiles  living  in  the  village,  and  they  were  fine,  in- 
telligent men,  in  the  prime  of  life.  One  of  them  read  and 
spoke  French  fluently,  and  some  English,  and  several  others 
spoke  French.  I  have  since  found  these  exiles  to  be  among 
the  better  classes  of  the  people  living  in  Siberia  to-day — in- 
telligent and  capable  men  and  women. 

The  country  on  our  last  day's  ride  toward  this  place  look- 
ed more  settled  than  further  north,  and  numerous  hay-stacks 
showed  the  presence  of  cattle,  of  which  I  saw  some  twenty 
or  thirty ;  but  tillage  was  not  yet  seen.  In  the  village, 
chunky,  long-haired  horses  and  funny  little  wooden  sleighs 
were  in  use ;  but  bells  are  not  allowed  on  the  horses  except- 
ing on  the  roads  outside  the  limits  of  the  town. 

On  Wednesday,  November  30th,  between  9  and  10  o'clock, 
we  left  Werchoiansk  for  Yakutsk,  with  one  Cossack,  two 
Tunguses,  and  horses  and  sleds.  Just  before  leaving,  I 
was  invited  to  the  houses  of  the  doctor  and  the  ispravnik, 
where  I  had  ice-cream,  cigarettes,  port  wine  and  champagne  ; 
also  a  cigar,  which  was  something  to  be  remembered  as  one 
of  the  events  of  my  life,  for  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  got 
another. 


KETR03PECTIVE.  337 

I  noticed  that  the  Cossacks  and  Tunguscs  had  very  fine 
teeth — all  of  them.  This,  I  think,  is  largely  due  to  the  black 
bread  which  they  eat,  and  also  to  the  absence  of  acids  or 
sweet  things,  except  in  very  limited  quantities. 

Our  provisions  were  carried  on  five  pack-horses.  The 
weather  at  this  time  was  pretty  cold,  being  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty  degrees  below  zero,  Fahrenheit. 

After  traveling  about  thirty  versts,  we  stopped  at  the  best 
povarnia  I  had  yet  seen.  A  good  fire  had  been  prepared 
by  the  man  in  charge  of  the  pack-horses,  who  arrived  before 
us,  and  some  hot  tea  was  soon  served.  After  this  we  con- 
tinued on  until  night,  when  we  stopped  again  for  sleep.  The 
condition  of  our  party  at  this  time  was  such  that  we  could  not 
travel  both  day  and  night,  but  were  obliged  to  stop  for  sleep 
and  rest. 

On  Sunday,  December  4th,  we  started  off  before  dawn, 
with  three  teams  of  deer  and  three  sleds  drawn  by  horses. 
After  various  accidents  and  stoppages,  and  winding  around 
some  really  fine  mountain  scenery,  with  lofty  woods,  over 
very  bad,  rough,  tussocky  ground,  we  reached  a  stansea 
where  we  found  quarters  for  the  night.  In  our  day's  journey 
we  had  crossed  the  Arctic  Circle.  How  many  things  had 
happened  since  we  last  crossed  it  in  1879 !  Thirty -three 
hearts  were  then  buoyed  with  hopes  for  the  future,  or  hopes 
of  what  the  future  might  bring.  Of  that  number  twenty 
were  now  dead  or  missing.  Time  had  made  many  changes, 
and  who  could  tell  what  had  happened  at  home  ? 

On  December  6th  we  traveled  by  deer  over  very  rough 
roads,  stopping  once  for  tea  and  to  warm  our  benumbed 
bodies.  Pushing  on  again,  we  passed  a  fine-looking  Pole 
going  into  exile.  We  traveled  until  nearly  midnight,  reach- 
ing a  stansea  to  find  it  occupied  by  a  Russian  trader  and 
other  travelers,  who  had  been  at  Yakutsk  and  were  on  their 
way  to  a  settlement  on  the  Kolyma  River.  His  principal 
stock  seemed  to  be  vodka,  with  some  calicoes,  thread,  needles, 
etc.  He  was  accompanied  by  an  elderly  woman,  and  by  his 
wife,  a  younger  person,  whom  he  had  recently  married,  and 


338 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


she  treated  us  very  hospitably.  In  the  morning  our  friends 
left  for  their  destination,  and  we  soon  moved  on  south,  never, 
probably,  to  meet  again  in  this  world. 

Shortly  after  this,  in  crossing  a  river,  we  broke  through 
the  ice,  wetting  things,  throwing  us  off  the  sleds,  and  break- 
ing one  of  them  all  to  pieces.  Afterward  we  reached  a 
stansea  in  a  beautiful  little  valley  among  the  mountains. 
The  scenery  at  this  place  was  the  finest  I  had  yet  seen  in 
Siberia — rugged,  inaccessible  peaks  clad  with  snow. 


DOWN  GRADE. 

On  Friday,  December  9th,  we  crossed  a  range  of  moun- 
tains, and  descended  a  pass  in  a  manner  worth  describing. 
After  toiling  up  the  rugged  ascent  we  reached  a  ridge,  and, 
on  looking  over  the  other  side,  found  a  very  steep  and  dan- 
gerous-looking place  to  be  traversed ;  but  our  drivers  went 
to  work  so  systematically  that  confidence  was  soon  restored. 


DESCENDING   THE   MOUNTAINS.  339 

The  eight  sleds  were  lashed  together  in  a  gang,  and  the  deer, 
twenty-four  in  number,  were  fastened  to  these  sleds  behind. 
One  of  our  party,  Seaman  Leach,  who  was  unable  to  walk 
owing  to  frosted  feet,  sat  in  the  center  of  this  body  of  sleds, 
and  at  a  given  signal,  with  a  native  at  each  side  to  steer,  the 
whole  raft  was  pushed  over  down  the  hill.  It  disappeared 
amid  a  cloud  of  snow-dust  around  the  corner  of  a  projecting 
ledge,  and  reached  the  bottom  in  safety,  much  to  my  relief. 

After  this  our  party  descended  individually,  rolling  and 
tumbling,  but  bringing  up  without  injury.  Lieutenant  Dan- 
enhower  and  myself  started  to  walk  down,  but  our  feet  slipped 
out  from  under  us  and  down  we  went,  finally  bringing  up  at  the 
bottom  all  right.  This  was  one  of  the  wildest  parts  of  our 
journey.  Over  this  road,  by  a  side  passage,  with  the  use  of 
pack-horses  and  by  reindeer,  are  transported  all  the  provi- 
sions which  come  to  supply  the  town  of  Werchoiansk  and 
other  northern  settlements  011  this  line  of  travel. 

After  getting  our  teams  into  order,  we  pushed  on  down 
the  mountains,  traversing  river  beds  now  frozen,  and  reached 
a  wretched  povarnia  late  at  night,  tired,  cold,  and  hungry. 

This  country  in  the  summer  time,  or  when  the  thawing 
season  commences,  must  be  about  impassable,  as  washed-out 
banks,  and  stumps  and  logs,  showed  the  force  of  the  water 
which  rushed  down  these  mountain  gullies  in  warm' weather. 
To  the  geologist,  and  also  to  the  naturalist,  this  country  pre- 
sents a  very  rich  field. 

On  Sunday,  December  llth,  I  met  with  a  series  of  acci- 
dents, being  thrown  off  my  sled  four  times,  smashing  one 
sled  beyond  repair,  and  breaking  another  one  four  times. 
The  last  accident  was  just  at  night,  when,  in  passing  around 
a  steep  place,  we  were  thrown,  with  one  traveler  who 
was  ahead,  with  sleds  and  deer,  down  a  gully  some  twenty 
feet,  in  a  promiscuous  heap  at  the  bottom.  During  the  day 
we  passed  three  trains  of  113  pack-horses,  loaded  with  stores 
and  bound  for  the  settlements  on  the  Kolyma  River. 

I  paid  a  brief  visit  to  one  of  three  skin  huts  of  some  wan- 
dering Tunguses,  whom  I  noticed  in  traveling  along.  These 


340 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


people  are  in  stature  and  appearance  like  other  settlers  far- 
ther north.  Their  habitations  are  made  of  poles  lashed 
together  and  covered  with  deer-skins  with  the  hair  removed. 
Fire  was  made  on  the  ground  in  the  center,  and  the  smoke 
was  allowed  to  jescape  through  a  hole  at  the  top  of  the  tent. 
Door-ways  with  flaps  of  skin  were  at  each  side,  but  one  had 
to  stoop  and  crawl  in  when  desiring  to  enter.  They  had 
numerous  fine-looking  reindeer,  with  some  dogs  and  sleds, 
scattered  around  their  habitations.  There  were  some  twenty 


REINDEER  TONGUSES'  SUMMER  TENT. 

men,  women  and  children,  old  and  young.  They  were  the 
first  of  these  wandering  Tunguses  that  I  ever  saw,  and  like 
most  of  the  others  were  not  backward  about  begging,  and 
particularly  for  tobacco.  They  extended  their  hands,  and 
said  in  the  most  beseeching  manner,  "  Tebac  !  tebac ! " 

Late  on  the  night  of  Monday,  December  12th,  we  reached 
a  stansea  called  Ouldan,  and  routed  out  the  inhabitants  there- 
of, including  fleas,  multitudes  of  cockroaches,  and  other  ver- 
min, and  obtained  a  little  rest.  The  next  morning  we  started 
off  with  five  sleds — three  with  horses  attached,  and  two  har- 
nessed to  bulls.  The  sleds  in  use  here  were  similar  in  shape 


SIGHTS   ALONG   THE   ROAD.  341 

to  the  deer  sleds  which  we  had  been  using,  but  broader,  and 
those  which  the  horses  dragged  were  rude  apologies  for 
sleighs.  These  horses  were  driven  with  reins,  and  harnessed 
very  primitively.  The  shafts  were  lashed  to  the  runners, 
and  had  plenty  of  room  to  play,  thereby  relieving  the  animal 
of  much  jolting  over  the  rough  roads.  The  bulls  were  har- 
nessed with  a  sort  of  yoke-collar  in  two  parts,  one  of  which 
went  under  and  the  other  over  the  neck,  and  fastened  by 
lines  on  the  forward  ends  of  the  shafts.  The  driver  of  these 
animals  sits  on  the  back  of  one  of  them,  almost  over  the  hind 
legs,  or  on  a  sled ;  he  carries  a  stick,  but  cannot  make  them 
travel  very  fast. 

The  next  day  we  got  horses  for  us  all,  and  very  good  ones 
they  were.  As  we  continued  on,  the  country  improved  in 
appearance,  and  a  number  of  Yakut  dwellings  or  farms  were 
passed.  We  were  fortunate  in  getting  a  quantity  of  frozen 
milk  and  some  very  fair  crushed  butter  at  a  stansea,  and  we 
met  the  wife  of  a  trader  traveling  from  Yakutsk  to  Werchoi- 
ansk  with  supplies — a  very  agreeable  person,  who  served  us 
nice  tea  and  cigarettes. 

The  next  day  we  stopped  off  at  a  house  where  I  saw  some 
calico  quilts — evidences  of  civilization  not  before  noticed. 
The  roads  continued  to  improve,  and  the  natives  we  met  wore 
less  skin  clothing  and  more  of  cloth  than  those  farther  north. 
It  was  evident,  also,  that  the  steppes  which  we  were  passing 
over  had  been  tilled  between  the  towns. 

At  the  stations  where  we  stopped  I  observed  how  the  cook- 
ing was  done.  Thin  barley  porridge  was  made  in  a  large 
kettle,  by  a  woman  who  used  a  wooden  stick  some  three 
feet  long,  with  a  button  six  inches  in  diameter  on  the  end; 
she  stirred  the  porridge  by  twirling  the  stick  dexterously 
between  her  hands.  The  fire-places  were  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Tunguses  and  Yakuts,  but  considerably  larger  and 
better  made.  The  habitations  of  the  people  were  also  larger, 
partitioned  off,  and  the  logs  were  squared  up,  and  in  some 
instances  dovetailed  very  nicely.  In  one  of  these  houses 
which  we  entered  I  noticed  a  dead  horse  on  the  floor,  and 


342  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

was  led  to  inquire  his  age  on  account  of  the  worn  appear- 
ance of  his  teeth.  I  was  informed  that  he  was  twenty  years 
old  when  killed,  and  was  now  going  to  be  used  for  food. 

The  whips  used  by  the  people  of  these  parts  when  driving 
horses  are  funny-looking  affairs,  being  a  combination  of  whip 
and  curry-comb.  The  handle  is  some  two  feet  long,  with  a 
leathern  thong  or  lash,  and  has  a  looped  strap  by  which  the 
whip  can  hang  suspended  from  the  arm.  A  small,  very  dull 
blade  is  inserted  in  the  handle,  which  the  drivers  use  in  cold 
weather  for  scraping  off  the  rime  and  clearing  the  frozen 
moisture  away  from  the  nostrils  of  their  horses  while  on  the 
road.  Another  peculiarity  which  I  noticed  was  that  the 
drivers  always  whipped  their  horses  when  they  came  to  a 
hill,  running  them  up-hill  and  walking  them  down-hill  quite 
often.  We  traveled  with  three  horses  abreast,  and  I  must 
confess  it  was  at  times  exciting  to  see  them  start  on  a  tight 
run  up-hill.  They  did  this  in  fine  style,  and  were  evidently 
trained  to  it. 

On  Saturday,  December  17th,  we  started  in  the  early 
morning  from  the  stansea  where  we  had  lodged,  for  Yakutsk. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

MR.  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

OUR  road,  as  we  approached  the  city,  lay  on  the  Lena 
River,  and,  as  I  saw  the  church  spires  rising  in  the 
distance,  it  seemed  as  if  I  was  approaching  the  Mecca  of  my 
hopes. 

Yakutsk  is  situated  on  the  right  side  of  the  river  on  rising 
ground.  It  is  a  place  of  some  four  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  the  seat  of  government  of  Upper  Siberia.  On  our  arrival 
we  were  taken  to  the  office  of  the  Chief  of  Police,  whose 
name  was  Carpuf.  He  was  a  dapper  little  man  of  some 
thirty -two  or  three  years,  and  very  kind  and  attentive  during 
our  stay  in  Yakutsk.  When  we  first  went  into  his  office  Mr. 
Danenhower  inquired  if  there  was  any  one  there  who  could 
speak  French.  Upon  this,  a  man  stepped  forward  whose 
name  was  Bobokoff,  and  through  him  Mr.  Danenhower  told 
the  Lieutenant  of  Police  that  he  wished  to  see  the  Governor- 
General,  and  also  who  we  were. 

After  this  we  were  taken  to  a  large  house  which  was  for 
the  accommodation  of  Russian  army  officers  when  traveling 
that  way.  Our  apartments  consisted  of  two  large  rooms 
comfortably  heated,  with  chairs  and  some  pictures  and 
flowers,  and  they  proved  quite  a  luxury  to  us.  A  hanging 
lamp  to  burn  kerosene  (the  first  one  I  had  seen  in  this  coun- 
try) was  suspended  from  the  ceiling.  We  were  waited  upon 
by  the  Ispravnik,  the  Lieutenant  of  Police,  and  Captain  Gro- 
enbek  of  the  steamer  Lena,  and  the  next  day  received  a  call 
from  Governor-General  Tchernieff. 

After  this,  arrangements  were  made  for  us  to  obtain  our 
meals  at  an  eating-house  across  the  street  from  where  we 
lived,  and  the  next  day  we  got  some  cheap  shirts  and  stock- 

(343) 


344  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

ings,  and  comfortable  baths.  Thus  we  were  quite  well  pro- 
vided for  again.  We  also,  a  few  days  later,  got  other 
clothing,  including  boots,  new  mittens,  caps,  etc.  Mr.  Dan- 
enhower  had  received  some  funds  through  the  Russian 
authorities,  and  a  little  spending  money  was  given  to  each 
one  of  us. 

We  went  out  shopping  several  times,  and  whenever  any  of 
our  party  appeared  on  the  street,  numbers  of  people  were 
attracted  to  take  a  look.  In  one  instance  three  of  us  went 
into  a  store  to  get  some  caps.  These  stores  are  near  the 
market  place — in  fact  they  form  a  part  of  the  general  bazaar 
of  the  city — and  a  number  of  people  were  about  at  their  dif- 
ferent vocations.  Soon  after  we  got  into  the  store  people 
began  to  come  in  until  the  store  was  crowded,  and  the  street 
outside  was  literally  blocked  with  people  as  we  passed  out. 
They  were  Yakuts  and  Cossacks,  and  were  so  numerous  that 
I  had  to  push  them  aside  to  get  into  the  sleigh  to  ride  back 
to  our  house.  They  had  assembled  to  see  the  Americans, — 
probably  the  first  (at  all  events  the  first  party  of  many)  who 
had  ever  visited  that  country. 

We  occupied  the  time  a  few  days  before  Christmas  in 
writing,  and  on  Saturday,  December  24th,  our  party  gave  a 
supper  at  the  hotel  to  some  of  our  Yakutsk  acquaintances. 
This  proved  a  sociable  affair,  and  passed  off  pleasantly. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  was  Christmas.  On  this  day  we 
had  our  photographs  taken,  and  then  a  number  of  our  party 
went  visiting,  and  were  very  hospitably  entertained.  The 
people  were  warm-hearted,  and  always  appeared  glad  to 
see  us. 

On  Wednesday,  December  28th,  four  of  our  party  and  a 
gentleman  who  resides  in  Yakutsk  took  a  drive  of  some  twelve 
versts,  to  a  village  occupied  by  five  or  six  hundred  unmarried 
males  and  females.  They  are  a  very  peculiar  race  of  people, 
made  up  of  all  the  different  nationalities,  and  of  a  singular 
religious  belief.  Many  of  them  are  exiles,  and  all  of  them 
are  very  thrifty,  working  at  different  vocations.  Their 
houses  were  generally  very  tidy-looking,  and  one  of  them, 


SIGHT-SEEING   IN    YAKUTSK.  345 

the  home  of  a  dyer,  was  scrupulously  clean.  They  raise 
some  cattle,  sheep,  and  swine,  and  also  an  excellent  quality 
of  wheat ;  I  have  eaten  bread  made  from  some  of  it,  and  can 
attest  its  goodness.  They  also  raise  barley,  oats,  potatoes, 
and  onions.  A  few  strawberries  occasionally  ripen,  but  the 
summer  is  short.  The  people  neither  drink  liquors  or  smoke, 
nor  do  they  eat  any  meat. 

The  fire  engines  of  Yakutsk  consist  of  a  number  of  barrels 
mounted  on  wheels.  When  starting  out  for  fires  in  cold 
weather  the  water  in  the  barrels  is  heated,  because,  if  it  were 
not,  before  they  could  dip  it  out  with  their  long-handled 
bailers  and  throw  it  on  to  the  fire  by  means  of  buckets,  it 
would  all  freeze  solid. 

After  our  arrival  at  Yakutsk  the  temperature  became 
colder  than  it  had  been  on  our  journey  thither.  Much  moist- 
ure was  in  the  air,  and  in  the  early  morning  it  looked  almost 
like  falling  snow. 

One  day  I  went  to  see  an  old  structure, — a  sort  of  retreat 
or  fortress  some  250  years  old,  which  was  used  by  the  Yakuts 
when  at  war  with  the  Russians.  It  was  built  log-cabin 
fashion,  some  500  feet  long,  with  towers  perched  at  both 
ends.  These  towers  were  some  thirty  feet  square  and  sixty 
or  seventy  feet  high.  The  logs,  on  the  outside,  were  full  of 
bullet  holes  made  during  the  attacks  of  the  Russians.  Though 
the  fortress  was  generally  dilapidated,  many  of  the  logs  were 
sound. 

On  the  evening  of  December  29th  I  paid  a  visit  to  the 
family  of  a  Russian  merchant,  and  for  the  first  time  in  two 
and  one-half  years  heard  piano  music.  The  next  day,  accom- 
panied by  Captain  Groenbek,  I  visited  the  steamer  Lena, 
which  was  hauled  up  at  this  place  for  the  winter.  This  noted 
steamer  came  around  the  northern  coast  of  Europe  and  Asia 
with  Nordenskiold's  ship,  the  Vega,  and  afterward  ascended 
the  Lena  River  under  command  of  Captain  Johannesen. 
She  plies  on  the  river,  but  draws  rather  too  much  water  to 
be  a  success.  She  is  a  nice  little  screw  vessel,  built  of  Bes- 
semer steel,  schooner-rigged,  and  about  100  tons  burthen. 


346 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


On  December  30th,  Mr.  Melville  surprised  us  by  putting 
in  an  appearance.  On  the  next  day  the  remainder  of  the 
whale-boat  party  arrived,  with  Noros  and  Nindermann,  and 
the  thirteen  survivors  of  the  expedition  were  united  again. 

On  New  Year's  day  our  party  kept  open  house,  American 
fashion,  and  all  hands  seemed  to  enjoy  themselves.  On  the 
Russian  Christmas,  which  occurs  twelve  days  later  than  our 
own,  I  attended  services  at  two  of  the  churches — of  which 
there  are  some  ten  or  twelve  in  the  city.  Christmas  with 

the  Russians  is  a  day  of  much 
rejoicing.  All  the  churches 
were  illuminated,  outside  and 
in,  with  candles ;  and  the  music 
of  the  bells  (which,  hung  several 
together,  are  rung  by  means  of 
lines  fastened  to  the  clappers,) 
kept  the  air  filled  with — discord, 
I  should  probably  say.  .  The 
religion  is  that  of  the  Greek 
Catholic  Church.  Numerous 
priests,  in  robes  covered  with 
tinsel,  read,  chant,  and  exhort 
the  people,  who  are  gathered 
before  the  altar  or  some  one  of 
the  numerous  devotional  shrines, 
some  standing,  others  kneeling, 
and  all  frequently  bowing  and 
RUSSIAN  PRIEST.  crossing  themselves.  Great  im- 

portance attaches  itself  to  rank.  The  governor,  in  full 
uniform,  stands  nearest  the  altar,  and  alone ;  then  other 
military  officers  and  prominent  citizens.  The  soldiers  stand 
in  a  body  together.  The  poorer  classes,  some  of  them  arrayed 
in  fashions  long  since  departed,  make  up  the  balance  of  the 
congregation,  and  stand  mostly  in  the  rear. 

Soon  after  this  our  party,  consisting  of  Lieutenant  Danen- 
hower,  eight  seamen,  and  myself,  left  Yakutsk  for  Irkutsk. 
Mr.  Melville  with  Bartlett  and  Nindermann  remained  to 


JOURNEY   TO    IRKUTSK.  349 

prosecute  further  search  for  the  missing  members  of  the 
Jeannette's  crew.  We  reached  Irkutsk  after  twenty-one 
days'  journey  over  some  1,900  miles  of  cold,  rough  country, 
passing  on  the  way  through  the  villages  of  Larinsk  and 
Vitimsk. 

At  Larinsk  I  saw  a  gang  of  some  fifty  conscripts,  all 
young  men.  They  were  going  to  "  jine  the  army ,"  and 
were  in  charge  of  a  squad  of  Cossacks,  who  sang  a  sort  of 
chorus  in  place  of  drum  and  fife  as  they  marched  along. 
The  rear  was  brought  up  by  weeping  women  and  children. 
The  principal  stores  in  this  place  (there  were  but  two  or 
three)  were  dram-shops.  Vodka,  or  Russian  rum,  was  the 
liquor  mostly  sold ;  next  in  demand  were  a  cheap  native 
wine,  and  a  kind  of  beer  called  pevo.  In  many  houses  a 
beverage  made  from  black  bread  and  called  quas  is  used. 
The  vodka  is  detestable,  though  when  spiced  it  often  finds 
its  way  among  the  upper  classes.  The  wine,  or  molifka,  is 
sometimes  good,  though  intoxicating.  Pevo  and  quas  are 
very  good  indeed,  and  wholesome,  safe  beverages. 

Our  next  stopping  place  was  Vitimsk.  Here  are  situated 
the  works  of  the  "  River  Steamship  Company  ; "  the  mana- 
ger was  Mr.  Lee,  an  Englishman,  and  a  hearty  welcome 
met  us  at  his  hands.  We  remained  here  over  night,  and 
next  day  pushed  on  in  two  detachments  for  Irkutsk.  Mr. 
Lee  built  three  new  povoshkas  or  sleds  for  us,  working  his 
men  all  night  that  we  might  not  be  delayed ;  furthermore, 
he  would  accept  nothing  for  his  labors.  Thus  equipped, 
with  parting  salutes  to  our  friends,  we  moved  away  towards 
Irkutsk. 

We  were  met  on  the  outskirts  of  Irkutsk  by  a  Cossack 
soldier  who  looked  at  our  pordorhosna  or  road  pass,  after 
which  we  were  escorted  to  the  residence  of  M.  Strikosky, 
secretary  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor.  Lieutenant  Danen- 
hower  with  his  detachment  of  the  party  had  arrived  before 
us.  As  I  walked  up  the  steps  a  gentleman  came  forward 
and  with  a  pleasant  smile  said  : — "  These  are  the  rest  of  the 
Jeannette  party  ;  how  do  you  do  ? "  "  Oh !  "  I  said,  "  you 


350  THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

speak  English,  don't  you  ?  Who  are  you  ?"  at  the  same  time 
we  shook  hands  heartily.  "  Are  you  an  American  ?  "  I-  con- 
tinued. "  Yes,  I  am  Dr.  Ledyard  from  California  ;  and  you  ?  " 
"  Oh,  I'm  Newcomb,  bug-hunter  of  the  party."  After  a  few 
other  remarks  I  went  into  the  house  and  found  hot  tea  with 
lemons,  sugar,  and  cake,  all  of  which  were  nicely  served  by 
servants.  Thus  we  were  in  civilized  ways  again,  and  with 
a  good  deal  of  "  style,"  too. 

Irkutsk,  before  the  fire  of  1878,  must  have  been  a  very 
pretty  city,  situated  as  it  is  near  pleasant  rivers  and  sur- 
rounded by  well-wooded  hills.  The  streets  are  wide,  but 
the  sidewalks  are  poor.  Churches  are  numerous ;  some  new 
and  others  dating  back  years  before  the  fire.  There  are 
three  hotels  and  several  eating  houses.  Dekos  Hotel  is  the 
leading  one.  Here  can  be  had  good  food,  excellent  tea,  fair 
coffee,  and  first-rate  wines  and  cigars.  The  stores  were 
numerous  and  well  filled  with  goods,  fancy  articles,  such  as 
confections,  French  notions,  cosmetics,  perfumes,  and  cigar- 
ettes being  most  plenty.  Business  in  these  articles  must  be 
good,  as  there  are  many  feast  days  in  the  church  when 
these  articles  are  much  used.  French  fashions  prevail 
among  all  (dressed)  ladies.  Ball  costumes  were  some  of 
them  very  elegant,  but  a  ready-made  flannel  shirt  I  could 
not  find  in  town. 

The  theatre  is  quite  a  pretty  place,  with  parquette,  three 
rows  of  boxes,  and  gallery.  It  seemed  the  custom  to  leave 
your  box  and  promenade  in  the  corridors — both  ladies  and 
gentlemen — and  to  visit  the  lunch  room,  where  wines  and 
liquors  of  all  kinds,  with  hot  tea,  cakes,  pastry,  and  cigar- 
ettes were  freely  indulged  in.  The  performances  were  very 
good,  embracing  tragedy  and  comedy  a  la  mode.  Of  course 
the  language  is  Russian.  There  is  also  a  hall  where  enter- 
tainments by  a  local  musical  society  are  given.  These  are 
truly  enjoyable,  having  the  characteristic  Russian  lunch 
room  attached,  where  champagne  and  other  nice  wines  are 
taken  by  both  ladies  and  gentlemen. 

Irkutsk  contains  two  market  places  or  bazaars — large  open 


LIFE  IN   THE  CAPITOL.  851 

squares,  with  long  rows  of  stands  and  small  booths  where 
new  and  second-hand  articles,  food  for  man  and  beast, 
clothing,  house-keeping  utensils,  etc.  were  to  be  found. 
The  dealers,  men  and  women,  were  a  shrewd  set.  One 
feature  of  trade  here  and  elsewhere  in  Russia  is  detestable. 
I  refer  to  "beating  down  "  the  price  of  an  article.  It  is  a 
practice  regularly  indulged  in.  In  purchasing  trunks  here, 
for  our  journey  further,  I  effected  a  discount  of  more  than 
twelve  dollars  from  the  first  price.  Dealers,  I  am  told, 
expect  to  be  asked  to  sell  goods  for  less  than  the  price  first 
asked.  Then,  too,  for  the  same  articles,  the  difference  in 
prices  asked  at  stores  on  the  main  street  and  by  dealers  at 
the  bazaar  often  was  a  good  deal. 

At  Irkutsk  telegraph  communication  commences.  Over 
two  thousand  miles  beyond  this  place  we  first  heard  rumors  of 
the  assassination  of  the  American  President  Garfield  and  the 
Czar.  How  this  information  was  transmitted  so  far  beyond 
the  wires,  and  so  nearly  correct,  must  be  left  to  the  reader 
to  conjecture.  At  this  place,  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  two 
and  a  half  years,  I  first  received  tidings  from  my  family, 
first  by  cable,  and  later  from  eighteen  letters  brought  by  Mr. 
Jackson,  London  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald. 
This  gentleman  was  sent  by  Mr.  Bennett  to  gather  all  infor- 
mation possible  about  the  Jeannette  and  the  fate  of  her 
crew.  He  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  A.  Larsen,  artist  of  the 
Illustrated  London  News.  The  reader  can  perhaps  imagine 
the  pleasure  it  was  to  us  to  meet  these  gentlemen,  and  to 
hear  our  mother  tongue  again  from  other  lips  than  those 
with  which  we  had  for  so  long  been  associated.  In  this  place, 
however,  I  must  not  fail  to  mention  a  gentleman  who  spoke 
English  very  fairly.  I  refer  to  Count  Ahlefeldt  Laurvigen. 
His  kind  thoughtfulness  will  keep  thoughts  of  him  green  in 
our  memories  for  many  a  day  to  come. 

After  interviewing  the  party  and  gathering  all  possible 
news  and  sketches  of  our  movements,  and  making  necessary 
preparations,  Mr.  Jackson  and  Mr.  Larsen,  with  Seaman 
21 


352 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


Noros  and  a  Cossack  servant,  and  three  large  povoshkas, 
whirled  out  of  the  yard  of  Dekos  Hotel  amid  cheers.  They 
were  bound  for  Yakutsk,  some  1900  miles  further  north,  to 
do  what  they  could  towards  rescuing  our  missing  comrades. 
Seaman  Noros  went  with  Mr.  Jackson  by  permission  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  also  at  his  own  desire.  This 
man,  one  of  the  two  who  started  south  from  DeLong's  party 
for  assistance,  after  the  terrible  hardships  endured  with 
Nindermann  on  that  fearful  tramp  was  again  "  facing  the 
music."  Nindermann  was  at  this  time  with  Mr.  Melville 
and  Bartlett  similarly  engaged.  These  examples  I  mention 
to  show  the  stuff  of  which  our  boys  were  made. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

MR  NEWCOMB'S  NARRATIVE. 
(CONTINUED.) 

rpHE  next  night,  March  13th,  Lieutenant  Danenhower 
JL  with  Mr.  Cole,  our  steward,  and  myself  bade  good-bye 
to  our  Irkutsk  friends  and  started  towards  home,  following 
the  first  detachment,  which,  I  have  omitted  to  state,  left 
Irkutsk  the  evening  before  the  departure  of  Jackson  and 
Larsen.  We  journeyed  on,  sometimes  on  runners,  then  on 
wheels,  the  snow  having  already  begun  to  disappear.  We 
got  as  far  as  Nijni  Ujinsk  and  then  waited  to  meet  the 
officers  sent  out  by  government  for  our  assistance  arid 
relief.  After  some  delay  (the  roads  were  very  bad)  those 
gentlemen,  Lieutenant  Harber  and  Master  Schurtze,U.  S.  N., 
arrived  with  letters.  Thus,  after  more  than  two  and  one-half 
years,  I  was  talking  with  real  live  Americans,  fresh  from 
home. 

As  Lieutenant  Harber  was  clothed  with  the  authority  to 
employ  those  of  our  party  who  were  of  use  and  available, 
despatches  were  sent  to  Seaman  Leach,  who,  with  our  first 
detachment,  had  reached  Krosnayarsk.  Every  member  of 
our  party  had  previously  volunteered  his  services  to  the 
department  for  a  continuation  of  the  search  for  the  missing, 
and  Leach's  party  willingly  returned.  They  left  Krosnay- 
arsk about  the  time  we  left  Nijni  Ujinsk,  and  we  met  them  and 
said  good-bye  on  the  road.  We,  as  ordered,  kept  on  towards 
home.  They  pushed  on  for  Irkutsk,  where  they  met  Lieuten- 
ant Harber  and  Master  Schurtze,  and  subsequently  went 
north  with  them. 

Continuing  our  journey,  we  passed  through  several  minor 
towns  to  Krosnayarsk,  where  we  spent  a  part  of  a  day  vand 
night.  Pushing  forward  again  we  reached  Tomsk,  the 

(353) 


354 


THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


capital  of  Western  Siberia,  about  the  first  of  April.  We 
called  on  the  governor,  visited  several  stores,  two  photo- 
graph saloons,  and  the  market.  We  laid  in  fresh  meat  and 
other  road  supplies.  The  meat  which  was  frozen,  was  cut 
up  with  a  topore,  or  axe,  on  a  dirty  block  of  wood.  This 
block  was  surrounded  by  gaunt,  hungry  dogs,  and  as  soon 
as  the  market  man  stepped  aside  they  jumped  on  to  the  block, 
snapped  up  every  morsel  left  and  licked  the  grease  with 
their  tongues.  To  see  cigarette  stumps  and  dogs  on  the 
meat  block  of  an  American  market  would  be  surprising ; 
yet  it  was  customary  here. 

Tomsk,  like  most  Siberian  towns,  lies  near  a  river  and  in  a 
valley.  I  could  readily  see  how  invading  forces  on  the  hills 
surrounding  would  have  these  places  completely  at  their 
mercy.  Tomsk  looks  pretty  from  the  east,  but  the  roads 


CRADLE-HOLES. 

are  full  of  cradle-holes  ;  the  worst  I  ever  saw.  Even  in  the 
streets  of  the  city  these  things  are  common.  No  American 
community  would  begin  to  tolerate  them.  The  city  is 
irregularly  divided  by  a  small  river,  and  has  a  dilapidated 
appearance,  as  does  the  average  Siberian  city  or  town — gov- 
ernment buildings  and  churches  exceptcd. 

The  governor  of  Tomsk,  when  I  was  there,  was  a  young 
man  of  perhaps  thirty-five  years  ;  he  appeared  smart  and  to 


THE  CITY   OP   TOMSK.  855 

have  an  eye  for  business.  He  treated  us  courteously,  and 
transacted  the  business  of  our  road  passes  very  promptly. 
The  improved  appearance  of  most  of  the  stansea  or  stations 
in  Western  Siberia  over  those  of  Eastern  Siberia  are  eviden- 
ces of  a  more  energetic  administration. 

Tomsk  is  a  post  and  telegraph  station.  The  inhabitants 
show  the  Jewish  characteristics  to  a  considerable  extent, 
many  of  the  tradespeople  being  of  this  class.  The  stores, 
though  containing  many  varieties  of  goods,  were  not  as 
spacious  or  of  as  good  architecture  as  are  seen  at  Irkutsk. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  very  many  of  the  buildings  in  Sibe- 
rian towns  arc  of  wood,  and  also  because  the  lire  departments 
are  very  poor  and  inefficient,  fires  are  generally  disastrous 
and  extensive.  Such  was  the  case  in  1878  at  Irkutsk, 
and  Krosnayarsk,  Tomsk,  and  Omsk  have  been  similarly 
visited. 

The  country  surrounding  Tomsk  was  fairly  wooded,  but 
from  what  I  could  see  it  was  young  soft  wood ;  the  first 
growth  apparently  having  been  cut  off.  About  the  common- 
est bird  is  the  magpie.  In  weather  when  the  snow  is  dry 
and  granulated . from  extreme  cold,  these  birds  take  a  snow 
bath  as  a  hen  sifts  dirt  among  her  feathers ;  they  use  both 
wings  and  seem  to  enjoy  it  much.  I  saw  one  perched  on  a 
pig's  back,  possibly  performing  an  act  of  charity  by  relieving 
piggy  of  other  and  less  welcome  guests. 

We  left  Tomsk  April  4th,  and  after  making  156  versts 
stopped  for  the  night.  The  roads  between  Tomsk  and 
Omsk  were  much  better  than  we  had  traveled  over  coming 
from  Krosnayarsk.  On  the  morning  of  April  7th  our  lead- 
ing yemstchik  or  driver  had  his  nose  frozen.  "  March  winds 
and  April  showers"  (conspicuous  by  their  absence)  were 
not  bringing  forth  May  flowers  very  numerously  at  this  time 
with  us.  In  fact,  it  was  smart  winter  weather  with  heavy 
drifts  of  snow,  often  ten  feet  deep,  so  that  on  entering  and 
leaving  stations  our  sleds  were  higher  than  the  eaves  of  the 
dwellings. 

The  women  of  Siberia  crochet  and  knit  very  skillfully,  and 


856 


THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


I  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure  some  beautiful  shawls  and 
table  covers.  The  shawls  were  made  from  cashmere  wool, 
the  yarn  having  been  spun  in  the  country  by  hand.  I  also 
saw  some  very  pretty  netted  bed-covers  with  figures  marked 
in  with  Berlin  worsteds  very  tastefully.  The  love  of  orna- 
ments is  universal.  Among  the  Tunguses  the  women  were 
inveterate  beggars,  especially  for  small  pieces  of  scarlet  flan- 
nel—  part  of  a  pair  of  woolen  drawers  of  mine. 

The  population  of  most  Siberian  towns  increases  consider- 
ably in  the  autumn.  Petropaulofsky,  a  small  town  of  some 
1,100  inhabitants,  between  Omsk  and  Orenburg,  swells  its 

numbers  in  the  fall  to  17,000 
by  the  arrival  of  natives  with 
goods  for  trade  and  barter. 
The  business  of  the  place 
consists  of  raising  horses, 
and  exporting  tar,  sheep- 
skins, hides  and  furs,  which 
are  sent  to  Russia. 

After  leaving  Omsk  we 
traveled  across  the  Kirghe- 
sian  steppes,  a  generally  level 
country,  evidently  producing 
some  hay  and  grain,  but  at 
the  time  covered  with  snow. 
SPINNING.  Qn  these  steppes  I  saw  num- 

erous droves  of  horses  grubbing  an  existence.  There  must 
be  good  pasturage  here  a  part  of  the  year  to  support  so  much 
stock.  The  inhabitants,  particularly  the  men,  wear  a  sur- 
prisingly small  amount  of  clothing.  They  have  a  cap  or 
big  hood  of  sheep-skin  tanned  with  the  hair  on,  and  coats 
of  the  same  material  with  long  sleeves ;  and  over  this,  in 
severe  weather,  a  big  deer-skin  or  some  other  skin  garment 
is  worn.  The  under  garments  are  of  cheap,  bright-colored 
cotton,  with  pants  of  shoddy  gray,  and  foot  gear  made  of 
plaited  straw,  skins,  or  leather,  according  to  the  wealth  of 
the  owner. 


EASTER   SUNDAY   AT   THROISKY.  857 

On  the  8th  of  April  I  slept  on  a  feather  bed  for  the  first 
time  in  nearly  three  years.  April  9th  opened  Easter  Sunday 
with  solid  winter  weather.  Easter  is  a  day  of  much  interest 
to  Russians.  After  the  Lenten  season  fasting  is  in  order. 
On  the  forenoon  of  this  day  we  were  invited  by  the  keeper 
of  a  stansea  to  partake  of  refreshments  with  him.  We 
enjoyed  excellently  cooked  roast  goose,  ham,  and  little  pig, 
with  bread,  sweet  cakes,  tea,  and  vodka,  or  rum.  The  chil- 
dren gave  us  some  music,  and  with  exchange  of  best  wishes, 
and  some  coppers  for  the  little  folks,  we  pushed  on. 

The  snow  was  about  gone  when  we  arrived  at  Throisky, 
April  15th ;  children  were  running  about  barefooted,  and 
numbers  of  men,  women,  and  children  were  sitting  about  hi 
sunny  spots  and  on  the  ground  sunning  themselves.  I  saw 
one  party  of  "  fellers  and  gals  "  who  were  being  entertained 
by  the  music  of  an  accordion.  Fifteen  or  twenty  curious 
and  much  interested  spectators  gathered  about  me  as  I 
eat  writing  on  the  steps  of  the  station. 

On  the  ceiling  of  the  rooms  where  we  slept  that  night  the 
proprietor  painted  a  black  cross.  I  asked  what  it  was  for ; 
and  our  courier  said  it  was  supposed  to  keep  the  devil  away, 
and  was  an  old  custom  in  some  parts  of  Russia. 

In  Throisky  we  saw  numerous  Kirghese  men  and  women. 
The  latter  wore  very  pretty  white  caps  trimmed  with  gold 
bands  and  real  or  imitation  jewels ;  also  finger  rings  of 
silver  with  red  carnelian  stones.  Their  boots  were  made  of 
black  and  bright-colored  red  and  green  leather,  fancy 
stitched.  Their  dresses  were  of  a  variegated  rainbow-hued 
silk  and  wool  fabric,  open  at  the  throat.  These  people  are 
Mahommedans.  Bright,  gay  colors,  with  even  glaring  con- 
trasts, seem  to  be  the  taste  of  most  of  the  women  in  the 
humbler  classes. 

We  left  Throisky  April  17th,  and  about  2  p.  M.  reached  a 
stansea  where  a  peasant  wedding-party  was  assembled. 
They  danced,  sung,  and  feasted  a  good  deal,  and  many  of 
them,  both  men  and  women,  were  "  feeling  good "  from 
drinking  vodka. 


358 


THE  JEANNETTB   ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 


At  this  time  we  were  traveling  with  tarantass,  and  on  the 
18th  reached  a  river  where  we  were  ferried  over  in  dug-out 
canoes.  Our  vehicle  was  taken  across  in  two  canoes  placed 


A  RUSSIAN  WEDDING. 

Bide  by  side,  each  canoe  holding  two  of  the  wheels.  After 
this  we  journeyed  on  until  night,  when  it  began  to  rain. 
Just  before  stopping  for  the  night  we  got  a  capsize  down  an 
embankment  into  a  ditch.  The  horses  started  to  run,  but 
were  held  by  the  driver,  while  a  friendly  tree  stump  near  at 
hand  kept  us  from  a  bad  accident.  When  we  capsized  Lieu- 
tenant Danenhower  came  down  on  top  of  me,  and  as  we  were 
confined  by  the  apron  of  the  vehicle  and  by  the  pillows  and 
baggage,  I  was  nearly  smothered.  After  getting  another 
wajron  we  started  ahead  again  amid  half  a  gale  of  wind  and 
rain,  glad  to  get  off  so  easily. 

On   the   20th  we   capsized   three   times,  crossed  numer- 
ous creeks,  ferried  a  river,  and  came  to  a  halt  after  a  run 


THE  URAL  RIVER.  859 

of  89  versts  only.  The  weather  was  by  this  time  getting 
Bpring-like,  being  breezy,  with  heavy  roads  and  swollen 
streams.  Our  progress  was  necessarily  slow,  averaging  but 


A  SIBERIAN  TARANTASS. 

ueven  or  eight  versts  an  hour.  The  country  was  hilly,  with 
rocks,  ledges,  and  a  very  few  scattered,  stunted  bushes,  and 
an  occasional  tree.  The  grass  was  beginning  to  show  some 
green.  The  roads  through  the  villages  were  a  foot  deep  with 
mud,  and  geese  and  hogs  were  wallowing  in  it.  On  the  21st 
I  saw  oxen  yoked  together  for  draft  purposes. 

On  the  22d  we  passed  the  town  of  Osk  and  the  Ural  River 
at  night,  reaching  a  stansea  at  the  foot  of  the  Ural  Moun- 
tains, on  the  western  side.  The  Ural  River  is  a  winding 
stream,  with  steep,  high  earth  banks  in  many  places.  Our 
road  on  the  afternoon  of  the  22d,  lay  along  one  side  of  this 
river,  and  I  obtained  fine  views.  I  noticed  but  little  timber 
in  its  vicinity.  I  saw  numerous  flocks  of  ducks,  easy  of 
access,  and  should  say  good  shooting  might  be  had.  Hawks 
and  eagles  were  very  plenty.  I  saw,  also,  a  flock  of  teal, 
and  noticed  that  they  started  and  flew  off,  apparently  much 
frightened.  They  crossed  the  road,  but  not  soon  enough  to 
escape  a  large  hawk  which  darted  among  them,  seized  one, 
and  bore  it  off  over  the  river  bank.  Our  driver  stopped  his 


S60  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

team,  jumped  off,  gave  chase,  and  made  the  hawk  drop  the 
teal.  Both  birds  flew  off  for  some  300  yards  in  different 
directions,  when  the  hawk  turned,  overtook  and  recaptured 
his  prey,  and  carried  it  away  to  devour  at  leisure. 

A  good  deal  of  the  country  just  before  entering  the  moun- 
tains on  the  western  side  is  about  level,  or  gently  undulating, 
with  numerous  pond-holes,  excellent  for  both  snipe  and  duck. 
I  saw  three  Kirghese  hunters  riding  horseback.  One  of  them 
had  some  ducks.  Two  of  them  had  flintlocks,  and  one  had 
a  single-barreled  percussion  gun. 

In  this  country  I  often  saw,  situated  by  themselves,  and 
on  the  outskirts  of  Cossack  villages,  some  dome-shaped  huts. 
These  were  either  the  temporary  abodes  of  Cossacks  tending 
horses  and  camels  at  pasture,  or  else  the  homes  of  Kirghese. 
They  were  constructed  of  light,  portable  crossed  frames,  and 
covered  (except  a  hole  at  the  top  for  air  and  smoke)  with  a 
thick,  heavy  felting  cloth  outside,  and  with  straw  matting 
about  the  walls  inside.  They  were  comfortable  dwellings, 
besides  being  cheap,  and  easy  to  keep  in  repair  and  move 
about. 

On  the  morning  of  April  23d  we  started  early,  and  after 
a  hard,  tedious  day,  over  rough  roads,  winding  about  through 
narrow,  rocky  defiles,  past  some  pretty  bits  of  scenery,  and 
others  that  were  bare  and  inhospitable,  we  reached,  at  nine 
P.M.,  a  stansea  which,  though  yet  in  the  mountains,  was  only 
120  versts  from  the  railroad.  Yakutsk  and  Irkutsk  had  each 
been  at  different  times  the  "  Mecca  "  of  my  hopes ;  now  it 
was  Orenburg  and  the  iron  horse. 

Owing  to  the  scarcity  of  wood  and  its  value  for  other  pur- 
poses in  this  section,  a  fuel  is  made  from  the  manure  of 
horses  and  cattle.  It  contains  much  straw,  and  is  pressed, 
dried,  and  cut  up  into  pieces  like  peat.  It  makes  excellent 
fuel,  and  burns  without  any  disagreeable  odor. 

April  24th  opened  cold  and  cloudy,  with  a  light  breeze, 
spits  of  snow,  and  rain.  The  roads  were  very  heavy,  and 
we  traveled  this  day  by  both  runners  and  wheels.  On  the 
next  morning,  at  8 :45  A.M.,  we  reached  Orenburg,  and  found 


AT   ORENBURG.  361 

quarters  at  the  Hotel  Europansky.  This  hotel  and  its  pro- 
prietor I  can  recommend  as  very  nice.  After  dinner  we 
drove  to  the  depot,  saw  the  locomotives  and  cars,  conversed 
with  the  station-master,  and  arranged  for  our  passage  to 
Moscow.  The  passenger  cars  are  in  compartments,  with  ac- 
commodations not  to  be  compared  to  our  Pullman  or  Wag- 
ner cars.  They  are  mounted  on  six  wheels  and  steel  side- 
springs.  The  locomotives  use  wood  for  fuel,  and  are  of 
German  manufacture  on  the  lines  on  which  I  have  traveled.  ^ 

Orenburg  is,  in  my  mind,  a  very  interesting  place,  and  be- 
fore the  last  heavy  conflagration  must  have  been  a  fine  city. 
I  saw  in  the  public  square  a  circus,  which  looked  natural. 
Telegrams,  letters,  and  some  drafts  for  money  (last  but  not 
least)  awaited  us  here.  The  stores  were  well  filled  with 
many  kinds  of  goods.  The  Tartar  bazaars  were  very  inter- 
esting places,  containing  many  fancy  articles,  such  as  caps, 
slippers  and  boots,  beautifully  embroidered  with  silk  and  tin- 
sel ;  also,  perfumes,  rugs,  and  droll-looking,  rainbow-hued 
silk  and  wool  robes.  Peddlers  came  to  us  at  the  hotel  with 
different  articles.  They  had  beautiful  rings  of  diamonds 
and  turquoise,  necklaces  of  amethysts  and  Siberian  crystals, 
pearls,  topazes,  and  rubies  in  pins  and  ear-rings,  and  not 
mounted.  Also  jewel-boxes  in  malachite  and  lapis  lazuli, 
with  other  varieties  of  native  stone,  carved  to  represent  fruit 
and  flowers.  I  fortunately  obtained  some  of  these  lovely 
things,  and  brought  them  safely  home. 

We  left  Orenburg  at  9:30  P.  M.,  April  26th,  for  Moscow. 
When  the  train  arrives  at  a  station  a  man  in  uniform  strikes 
quickly  and  several  times  a  bell  hung  on  the  depot  near  the 
mail  box.  The  train  is  started  by  the  same  man,  who  an- 
nounces the  departure  by  striking  the  bell.  At  every  sta- 
tion numbers  of  Cossacks  with  sidearms  are  seen,  doing 
police  duty. 

The  country  we  now  went  through  was  level,  and  good 
for  grazing,  with  some  woods,  pond-holes,  and  stream*. 
Numerous  flocks  of  plover,  snipe,  and  ducks  started  up  as 
the  train  proceeded.  The  sensation  of  being  bowled  along 


362  THE  JEANNETTB  ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 

in  cars  after  my  varied  experiences  of  two  and  one-half 
years  was  very  novel,  and  I  felt  for  the  first  time  as  if  I  was 
really  going  home.  The  conductors  and  porters  were  quiet, 
civil,  and  attentive. 

The  first  city  of  importance  after  leaving  Orenburg  is  Sama- 
rah,  the  capital  of  this  portion  of  Russia.  Crossing  the  Volga 
for  the  first  time,  just  before  noon,  we  arrived  at  this  place 
in  time  for  dinner  at  the  station,  and  had  an  excellent  meal 
of  cabbage  soup,  fish,  cutlets,  and  vegetables.  While  we 
were  eating,  a  gentleman  of  fine  appearance  came  into  the 
restaurant  and  spoke  to  some  military  officers  ;  he  then  came 
up  to  our  table  and  inquired  if  we  were  the  Jeannette  party. 
On  being  answered  affirmatively,  he  introduced  himself  as 
the  governor  of  Samarah,  chatted  a  few  minutes,  took  a  glass 
of  wine,  and  then,  after  inviting  us  to  call  on  him  in  his  car, 
and  shaking  hands,  he  withdrew.  Meantime  some  twelve 
or  fifteen  gentlemen  had  gathered  around  us,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  the  time  we  were  at  dinner  our  little  party  was 
the  center  of  attraction. 

The  Volga  at  this  place  is  about  a  mile  in  width.  The 
ice  was  nearly  gone  when  I  saw  it,  near  the  last  of  April,  and 
there  were  numbers  of  row-boats  with  two  or  three  men  in 
each  busy  fishing.  The  banks  of  the  river  were  in  places 
much  overflowed.  I  also  saw  a  dozen  steamers,  some  with 
Bteam  up;  part  of  them  were  fore-and-aft  rigged,  and  all  of 
them  side-wheeled. 

We  were  passing  along  the  Volga  all  the  afternoon,  and 
in  one  place  crossed  it  over  a  fine  bridge  nearly  a  mile  long. 
This  bridge  was  of  iron,  and  rested  on  fourteen  stone  piers 
some  sixty  feet  above  the  river,  in  which  at  this  place  was 
considerable  running  ice. 

On  the  28th  of  April  I  saw  a  number  of  farmers  busy 
ploughing  and  harrowing.  Three  horses  working  abreast 
drew  a  pair  of  wheels  to  which  the  plough  was  attached. 
The  ploughs  were  of  wood  and  the  ploughshares  were  faced 
with  iron.  The  harrows  were  drawn  by  one  horse,  but  one 
man  guided  two  teams.  A  dozen  or  more  teams  might  be 


MOSCOW. 


363 


seen  at  once  on  a  fine,  rich-looking  level  or  gently  undulating 
field.  Similar  scenes  were  noticed  for  miles  over  a  country 
reminding  me  of  our  Western  prairies. 

Here  and  there  was  a  town,  village,  or  hamlet.  Numerous 
small  streams  furnished  a  good  supply  of  water.  The  culti- 
vated fields  were  divided  by  lines  of  turf,  in  consequence  of 
the  absence  of  rocks  for  walls  or  wood  for  fences.  The 
embankments  of  the  railroad  were  kept  from  washing  out  by 
the  same  means,  and  also  by  willow  branches  fastened  down 
with  cross  pieces  on  wooden  pins.  Many  horses,  cattle,  and 
sheep,  with  some  hogs, 
were  eating  the  young 
grass.  Banks  of  snow 
five  to  ten  feet  deep  and 
sometimes  200  feet  long, 
attested  the  severity  of 
the  winter. 

We  arrived  at  Mos- 
cow at  nine  A.  M.,  April 
29th,  and  found  nice 
quarters  at  Slavanski 
Bazaar.  The  hum  of 
the  city  sounded  natu- 
ral. Moscow  is  a  fine 
old  city,  with  many 
scenes  of  interest;  her 
cathedral,  churches,  and 
old  palaces,  the  Krem- 
lin, the  big  bell,  the 
chapel  of  John  the  Ter- 
rible, the  gates  of  the 
city,  the  maiden  monas- 
tery where  a  sister  of 
Peter  the  Great  was  confined,  and  a  foundling  hospital  being 
among  them.  I  attended  one  very  interesting  wedding  in 
this  city,  and  then  bidding  good-bye  to  Moscow  and  to  some 


GREAT  BELL  OF  MOSCOW. 


364  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

very  pleasant  American  residents  there,  we  continued  our 
journey. 

We  reached  St.  Petersburg  about  May  1st,  and  through 
the  efforts  of  the  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Herald,  we 
were  provided  with  delightful  quarters  on  the  English  Quay 
fronting  the  Neva  River.  The  emperor  and  empress  having 
expressed  a  wish  to  see  us,  we  went  to  Gatcheua  by  special 
train  and  were  taken  in  the  carriages  of  royalty  to  the 
palace  where,  after  waiting  some  time  and  viewing  many 
objects  of  interest,  we  were  ushered  into  a  smaller  apartment, 
there  meeting  the  emperor  and  empress,  both  of  whom  spoke 
English.  Concluding  our  interview  and  shaking  hands  we 
withdrew,  and  after  being  shown  through  the  palace  and 
meeting  a  number  of  notables,  we  were  driven  to  the  station 
and  returned  to  St.  Petersburg.  In  the  evening  we  attended 
a  banquet  given  in  our  honor. 

We  remained  in  this  city  eight  days  waiting  for  instruc- 
tions from  home.  Among  other  interesting  attentions  which 
we  received  I  remember  with  pleasure  the  banquet  given  us 
by  the  charg6  d'affaires,  Mr.  Hoffman. 

St.  Petersburg  contains  many  sights  for  the  traveler,  and 
the  European  tourist  who  fails  to  visit  this  city  loses  much 
of  interest  which  is  not  to  be  seen  elsewhere.  Among  the 
sights  are  the  fortress  where  are  kept  a  number  of  important 
prisoners ;  the  cathedral  with  the  tombs  of  the  dead  emperors ; 
the  hermitage ;  and  St.  Isaac's  Cathedral  with  its  beautiful 
mosaic  pictures  and  columns  of  malachite  and  lapis  lazuli. 
This  cathedral  is  350  feet  from  the  floor  to  the  interior  of 
the  dome.  On  a  clear  day  and  with  a  glass  one  can  get 
good  views  of  Cronstadt,  some  eighteen  versts  away. 

We  left  St.  Petersburg  on  the  yacht  of  the  admiral  of  the 
port,  and  after  a  pleasant  passage  and  lunch  arrived  off 
Cronstadt,  where  we  paid  our  respects  to  the  admiral,  and 
then  with  good-byes  all  around  we  put  to  sea.  As  we  passed 
out  of  the  dock  the  naval  band  played  the  "  Star-Spangled 
Banner"  and  "America."  We  steamed  away,  night  shut 
down,  and  we  were  off  for  Hull,  England.  After  a  comfort- 


HOME  AGAIN. 


365 


able  passage  of  six  days  we  arrived  at  the  port,  where  we 
were  pleasantly  received  by  English  naval  officers  and  our 
consul,  Mr.  Howard. 

Crossing  from  Hull  overland  we  arrived  at  Liverpool,  and 
were  met  by  Consul  Packard  of  that  port,  Consul  Shaw  of 
Manchester,  and  others.  A  delightful  banquet  was  given 
here  by  Consul  Packard,  upon  which  occasion  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  the  mayor  and  other  citizens. 

Leaving  Liverpool  on  the  White  Star  steamer  "Celtic," 
we  reached  New  York  where  friends  soon  surrounded  us, 
and  we  were  "  home  again  from  a  foreign  shore." 

In  conclusion,  I  would  advise  travelers  who  may  be  looking 
for  an  interesting  locality  to  visit,  to  try  Russia  and  a  trip 
across  the  Ural  Mountains  into  Siberia,  traveling  by  rail, 
steamboat,  and  horses.  There  is  much  of  fine  natural  scenery. 
In  the  summer  the  weather  is  delightful.  Plenty  of  good, 
wholesome  food  may  be  obtained,  and  the  expenses  need  not 
be  heavy.  With  these  concluding  remarks  I  leave  the  reader. 


EUROPE  AND  ASIA— BOUNDARY  LINE. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

DE  LONG'S  PATE  DISCOVERED— THE  GRAVE  ON  THE  LENA. 

A  FTER  making  the  necessary  preparations  for  a  systcm- 
-£JL  atic  search  for  his  missing  comrades  of  both  boats, 
Mr.  Melville  left  Yakutsk,  January  27th,  and  proceeded  to 
Verkhoyansk.  He  was  accompanied  by  Bartlett  and  Nin- 
dermann;  Captain  Guenbeck  of  the  steamer  Lena;  Efim 
Koploff  the  exile;  Peter  Kolenkin,  a  Cossack  sergeant; 
Constantine  Buhokoff ;  and  a  native  Yakut  and  his  wife  as 
porter  and  cook. 

At  Verkhoyansk  the  ispravnik  of  the  district  joined 
the  party,  which  started  north  February  llth,  and  reached 
Bulun  on  the  17th.  On  the  22d,  Melville  started  for  By- 
koff  Cape  to  procure  dog-teams  for  the  search  parties  and  a 
supply  of  fish  as  food,  and  also  to  pay  some  small  bills  con- 
tracted by  the  whale-boat  party  while  sojourning  there. 
The  snow  was  very  deep,  and  the  weather  most  of  the  time 
was  terribly  stormy.  Among  those  who  joined  him  as  dog- 
drivers  were  Tomat  Constantine  and  Wassili  (or  Bushiclle) 
Koolgiak. 

On  the  25th  the  remainder  of  the  search  party,  with  pro- 
vision trains,  started  for  Mot  Vai,  the  central  rendezvous 
for  the  search  parties  at  the  start,  situated  about  200  versts 
north  of  Bulun. 

Mr.  Melville  rejoined  his  companions  on  the  9th  of  March, 
at  Cath  Carta,  and  on  the  12th  wrote  a  letter  from  this 
place  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  part  as  follows  : — 

"  I  arrived  at  Bykoff  Cape  on  the  24th  of  February,  and 
was  detained  there  until  March  Gth  by  continuous  bad  weath- 
er— the  worst  I  have  ever  seen.  The  seven  dog  teams  I 
sent  to  carry  the  transport  party  returned  after  an  absence 

(366) 


MELVILLE  AT  CATH  CARTA.  367 

of  fifteen  days,  having  lost  their  way  in  the  storm.  Six  of 
their  dogs  died  of  exhaustion,  and  the  drivers  were  terribly 
frost-bitten  in  face,  feet,  and  hands,  refusing  to  again  ven- 
ture out  until  the  weather  became  settled. 

As  soon  as  I  get  sufficient  fish  on  hand,  and  three  teams 
of  dogs  selected,  the  three  search  parties  will  set  out  and 
the  search  actively  commence." 

Mr.  Melville  also  wrote  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Herald, 
from  Cath  Carta,  March  13th,  as  follows  : — "  The  place  from 
which  I  now  write,  Cath  Carta,  is  a  collection  of  four  mud 
hunting  huts,  on  one  of  the  many  brandies  of  the  Lena, 
about  fifty  versts  south  of  Usterda,  where  the  last  of  De- 
Long's  records  were  found.  I  selected  this  point  as  the 
nearest  place  to  pick  up  the  trail,  and  as  it  is  nearly  due 
south  of  Usterda,  it  is  in  his  line  of  march.  It  is  the  only 
place  in  this  vicinity  that  has  a  collection  of  four  huts, 
two  of  which  we  occupy — six  men  in  a  house  eight  feet  by 
fifteen.  Both  arc  too  low  for  a  man  to  stand  upright  in. 
The  other  two  contain  our  stores  of  fish  and  other  supplies. 
I  have  three  of  our  people  of  the  Jeaimettc,  and  three  other 
persons  hired  at  Yakutsk.  We  have,  besides,  a  Yakut  man 
and  wife  as  cook  and  wood  and  water  or  ice  carrier ;  also 
a  general  hand — a  Russian  exile — making  nine  people  in 
all.  I  have  hired  clog  teams  by  the  month ;  also  dog  drivers. 
I  have  all  the  teams  in  the  country  carrying  fish  ;  and  as 
soon  as  I  get  sufficient  fish  to  feed  ourselves  and  our  dogs, 
we  will  scour  the  country  between  the  Olcnck  and  Yana. 

To-morrow  myself  and  Nindcrmann,  with  two  interpre- 
ters and  dog  sleds,  will  go  to  Usterda  and  Sistcrancck  to 
pick  up  DeLong's  trail  where  I  lost  it  last  December.  I 
feel  very  confident  of  finding  DeLong's  people  and  records, 
but  fear  that  Chipp  never  reached  the  coast.  His  boat  was 
very  short  and  the  sea  very  heavy,  and  although  he  was 
the  best  seaman  on  the  Jeannette,  I  fear  the  weather  was 
too  much  for  the  boat — not  for  the  man. 

The  weather  has  been  the  worst  I  have  ever  seen.  Any 
22 


368  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

number  of  the  (native)  people  have  been  lost  and  frozen 
during  the  last  month.  On  our  journey  here  from  Bykoff 
Cape,  where  I  went  to  get  fish  and  dogs,  we  came  across 
two  families  who  had  taken  refuge  in  an  old  hut.  They  had 
been  exposed  to  the  storm  for  eight  days.  Food  had  given 
out,  and  three  of  their  children  — aged  eight,  five,  and  three 
years,  respectively — were  frozen  to  death.  We  gave  them 
fish  and  tea,  and  our  teams  on  their  return  to  Bykoff  will 
carry  them  through. 

The  weather  is  now  more  settled,  and  I  can  get  to  work 
right  away,  but  the  snow  is  very  deep.  It  covers  everything. 
You  can  sledge  right  over  the  houses  without  knowing  of 
their  whereabouts  except  by  the  chimneys  or  smoke.  The 
snow  does  not  leave  the  ground  by  melting  from  heat  of  the 
sun,  except  on  very  high  ground.  The  water  from  the  south 
comes  down  the  river  in  floods  long  before  the  Arctic  sum- 
mer sets  in,  and  covers  nearly  all  the  country  where  our 
search  lies.  You  may,  therefore,  imagine  some  of  the  diffi- 
culties we  may  have  in  finding  our  missing  comrades. 

When  I  got  into  Bykoff  last  September  not  one  man  was 
well  in  the  boat.  Not  more  than  two  were  able  to  walk,  and 
then  only  for  a  short  distance.  The  ice  in  the  river  was 
thick  enough  to  stop  any  boat  worked  by  strong,  vigorous 
men,  yet  not  strong  enough  to  walk  upon.  During  the 
month  of  October  the  river  freezes  and  breaks  up  again 
half  a  dozen  times.  Long  before  I  got  to  Bulun  to  see 
Nindermann  and  Noros  I  fear  my  comrades'  troubles  were 
over.  I  did  all  I  could  in  the  circumstances  to  get  my  peo- 
ple up  the  river  and  relief  to  DeLong.  I  lost  no  time  by 
going  to  Yakutsk  or  in  getting  my  party  there,  as  all  my 
travel  was  done  in  the  dead  of  winter  when  work  could  not 
be  done  at  the  delta,  and  it  was  necessary  to  get  supplies 
for  the  spring  and  summer,  all  of  which  come  from  Ya- 
kutsk. It  was  necessary  for  me  to  get  to  the  end  of  tele- 
graph communication,  and  I  was  in  Yakutsk  a  week  before 
an  answer  to  my  telegram  of  two  months  before  was  receiv- 
ed. However,  now  that  we  are  on  the  ground  we  will  use 


ALL    DEAD ! 


369 


our  best  endeavours  to  complete  our  work  to  the  general 
satisfaction. 

I  am  anxious  to  finish  up  our  work  here.  Our  eyes  are 
almost  blind  from  the  smoke  of  our  huts.  There  are  no 
chimneys,  only  holes  in  the  roof,  and  I  can  barely  see  what 
I  have  written.  The  Prefect  of  Verkhoyansk,  who  accom- 
panied us  to  this  place,  returns  home  and  will  carry  our 
mail ;  and  as  there  are  no  means  of  getting  letters  through 
to  Yakutsk,  except  by  special  courier,  before  the  river  breaks 
up,  you  may  not  hear  from  me  until  fall." 


THE  RIFLE  IN  THE  SNOW. 

Eleven  days  after  the  above  letter  was  written  Mr.  Mel- 
ville forwarded  from  the  Lena  Delta  to  Yakutsk,  by  special 
courier,  the  following  message : — 

"  I  have  found  Lieutenant  DeLong  and  his  party ;  all 
dead.  All  the  books  and  papers  have  also  been  found.  I 
remain  to  continue  the  search  for  the  party  under  Lieutenant 
Chipp." 


370  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

On  the  same  day,  March  24th,  Mr.  Melville  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  as  follows : — 

"I  have  the  honor  of  informing  you  of  my  successful 
search  for  the  party  of  Lieutenant  DcLong,  with  its  books, 
records,  &c.,  &c.  After  several  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
follow  DcLong's  track  from  the  northward,  I  tried  the  re- 
tracing of  Nindermann's  track  from  the  southward ;  and 
after  visiting  every  point  of  land  projecting  into  the  great 
bay  at  the  junction  of  the  Lena  branches,  from  Mot  Vai, 
around  from  the  west,  to  a  point  bearing  E.N.E.,  and  form- 
ing one  of  the  banks  of  the  River  Kugoasastak,  on  ascend- 
ing the  bank,  I  found  where  a  large  fire  had  been  made,  and 
Nindermarm  recognized  it  as  the  river  down  which  ho  came. 
I  turned  the  point  to  go  north,  and  about  one  thousand 
yards  from  the  point  I  noticed  the  points  of  four  poles  lash- 
ed together  and  projecting  two  feet  out  of  the  snow  drift, 
under  the  bank.  I  dropped  from  the  sled,  and  on  going  up 
to  the  poles  saw  the  muzzle  of  a  Remington  rifle  standing 
eight  inches  out  of  the  snow,  and  the  gun  strap  hitched  over 
the  poles. 

I  set  the  natives  digging  out  the  bank,  and  Nindcrmanu 
and  myself  commenced  to  search  the  bank  and  high  ground. 
I  walked  south,  Nindermann  walking  north.  I  had  go:io 
about  five  hundred  yards,  when  I  saw  the  camp  kettle  stand- 
ing out  of  the  snow  and,  close  by,  thrco  bodies  partially 
buried  in  snow.  I  examined  them,  and  found  them  to  Lo 
Lieutenant  DcLong,  Dr.  Ambler,  and  Ah  Sam,  tho  cook. 

I  found  DcLong's  note  book  alongside  of  him,  a  copy  of 
which  please  find  enclosed,  dating  from  October  1st,  when 
at  Usterda,  until  the  end.  Under  the  poles  were  found  tho 
books,  records,  <fcc.,  and  tsvo  men.  The  rest  of  the  people 
lie  between  the  place  where  DoLong  was  found  and  tho 
wreck  of  a  flat-boat,  a  distance  of  500  yards.  Tho  r,now 
bank  will  have  to  be  dug  out.  It  has  a  base  of  thirty  feet 
and  a  height  of  twenty  feet,  with  a  natural  slope. 

The  point  on  which  the  people  lie,  although  high,  is  cover- 
ed with  driftwood, — evidence  that  it  is  flooded  during  some 


•Illlilllll 


THE   MAUSOLEUM    ON    THE    LENA.  371 

season  of  the  year.  Therefore,  I  will  convey  the  people  to 
a  proper  place  on  the  bank  of  the  Lena,  and  have  them  in- 
terred. In  the  meantime  I  will  prosecute  the  search  for 
the  second  cutter  with  all  diligence,  as  the  weather  may 
permit.  The  weather  has  been  so  bad  that^we  have  been 
able  to  travel  but  one  day  in  four,  but  hope  for  better 
weather  as  spring  advances." 

The  first  cutter  party,  when  it  reached  land,  consisted  of 
fourteen  persons.  Nindermann  and  Noros  escaped  the  fate 
of  their  comrades ;  Erickson  and  Alexai,  who  died  first, 
were  buried  in  the  river  ;  and  the  remaining  ten — DeLong, 
Ambler,  Collins,  Lee,  Gortz,  Dressier,  Kaack,  Iverson,  Boyd, 
and  Ah  Sam — were  carried  about  thirty  miles  to  the  south- 
west from,  where  they  were  found,  to  the  top  of  a  hill  of 
solid  rock  300  feet  high,  and  laid  at  rest  by  their  devoted 
shipmates  and  sympathizing  natives. 


TOMB  OF  THE  LOST  EXPLORERS. 

The   tomb  or  mausoleum  in  which  the  bodies  were  de- 
posited was  constructed  of  the  lumber  of  a  broken-up  flat- 


372  THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION: 

boat.  First  a  cross  was  made  from  timbers  one  foot  square, 
hewn  out  of  logs  which  had  drifted  down  the  river,  and 
erected  on  the  crest  of  the  hill.  It  was  twenty-two  feet  high 
and  the  cross-beam  was  twelve  feet  long.  Around  this  cross 
was  built  a  box  twenty-two  feet  long,  six  feet  wide,  and  two 
feet  deep,  located  exactly  on  a  north  and  south  line.  After 
the  bodies  had  been  placed  in  the  box  it  was  covered  with 
plank.  A  ridge-pole  sixteen  feet  long  was  then  framed  into 
the  cross  five  feet  above  the  top  of  the  box,  and  its  ends 
were  supported  by  timbers  sloping  outward.  A  roof  was 
then  formed  by  placing  timbers  side  by  side  against  the 
ridge-poles  and  ends.  The  whole  outside  was  then  covered 
with  stones,  and  when  completed  it  resembled  a  pyramidal 
mound  of  stones  surmounted  by  a  cross. 

Before  the  cross  wa's  erected  members  of  the  search-part/ 
engraved  upon  it  an  inscription,  as  follows:  — 

IN 

MEMORY 
OP  12 

OF  THE 

OFFICERS 

AND 

MEN 

OP 

THE  ARCTIC  STEAMER  "JEANNETTE," 

WHO  DIED  OF  STARVATION 
IN  THE  LENA  DELTA,  OCTOBER,  188L 

LIEUTENANT 

G.  W.  DE  LONG. 

DR.  J.  M.  AMBLER. 

J.  J.  COLLINS. 

W.  LEE. 

A.  GORTZ. 

A.  DRESSLER. 

H.  H.  ERICKSON. 

G.  W.  BO  YD. 

N.  IVERSON. 

H.  H.  KAACK. 

ALEXAL 

AH  SAM. 

Arrangements  were   subsequently   made   at  Yakutsk   to 


THE  TRAGEDY  ON  THE  DELTA.  373 

have  the  entire  cairn  covered  with  a  deep  layer  of  earth,  to 
prevent  the  possibility  of  the  sun  thawing  the  bodies  therein. 
General  Tchernieff.  also  caused  a  Russian  inscription  to  be 
prepared  to  be  placed  on  the  tomb,  and  directed  that  every 
care  should  be  taken  to  preserve  the  tomb  and  the  monu- 
ment in  good  condition.  Standing  as  they  do  on  an  emin- 
ence, they  are  conspicuous  objects,  and  may  be  seen  at  a 
distance  of  twenty  miles. 

In  a  letter  to  the  New  York  Herald  written  from  the  Lena 
Delta,  April  12th,  Mr.  W..  H.  Gilder,  who,  strange  enough, 
had  appeared  on  the  scene  under  circumstances  hereafter 
related,  gave  the  following  particulars  of  the  finding  and 
burial  of  "  Our  Lost  Explorers  "  :  — 

"  Melville's  search  party  first  started  from  the  supply  depot 
at  Cath  Carta  to  follow  Niudermami's  route  from  Usterda  to 
Mot  Vai,  and  afterward  from  Mot  Vai  back  to  Usterda. 
They  stopped  at  the  place  where  Nindermann  and  Norosi 
passed  the  first  day  after  they  left  DeLong,  feeling  sure  that 
the  others  had  not  got  much  farther.  There  they  found  the 
wreck,  and  following  along  the  bank  they  came  upon  a  rifle 
barrel  hung  upon  four  poles  sticking  up  out  of  the  snow. 

"  They  set  the  natives  digging  on  each  side  of  the  sticks, 
and  they  soon  came  upon  two  bodies  under  eight  feet  of 
snow.  While  these  men  were  digging  toward  the  east,  Mel- 
ville went  on  along  the  bank,  twenty  feet  above  the  river,  to 
find  a  place  to  take  bearings.  He  then  saw  a  camp-kettle 
and  the  remains  of  a  fire  about  a  thousand  yards  from  the 
tent,  and,  approaching,  nearly  stumbled  upon  DeLong's  hand 
sticking  out  of  the  snow  about  thirty  feet  from  the  edge  of 
the  bank.  Here,  under  about  a  foot  of  snow,  they  found  the 
bodies  of  DeLong  and  Ambler  about  three  feet  apart,  and 
Ah  Sam  lying  at  their  feet,  all  partially  covered  by  pieces  of 
tent  and  a  few  pieces  of  blanket.  All  the  others  except. 
Alexai  were  found  at  the  place  where  the  tent  was  pitched. 
Lee  and  Kaack  were  close  by  in  a  cleft  in  the  bank  toward 
the  west.  Two  boxes  of  records,  with  the  medicine  chest 
and  a  flag  on  a  staff,  were  beside  the  tent. 


374 


THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


i 


"None    of    the 
dead    had     boots. 
Their     feet    were 
covered  with  rags, 
tied   on.      In    the 
pockets  of  all  were 
pieces     of     burnt 
skin    and    of    the 
clothing  which 
they  had  been  eat- 
ing.   The  hands  of 
all  were  more  or 
.  less  burned,  and  it 
3  looked  as  if  when 
£  dying     they     had 
g  crawled    into    the 

n 

*  fire,    Boyd     lying 
0  over  the   fire  and 

*  his  clothing  being 
H  burned  through  to 
$  the     skin,    which 

not  burned. 
Collins's  face  was 
covered  with  a 
cloth." 

The  tent  had 
been  pitched  in  a 
deep  gorge  in  the 
river  bank.  The 
bodies  of  Gortz 
and  Boyd  were  the 
first  two  found. 
Iverson  and  Dress- 
ier were  lying  side 
by  side  just  out>- 
side  of  where  the 


o  was 
fe 


A   STRANGE  INCIDENT.  375 

half-tent  shelter  had  hung  from  the  ridge-pole.  Mr.  Col- 
lins was  further  in  the  rear  on  the  inside  of  the  tent. 
Lee  and  Kaack  were  not  found  until  after  it  was  ascer- 
tained by  reading  DeLong's  diary  that  they  had  been  carried 
"around  the  corner  out  of  sight;"  then,  by  sounding  through 
the  snow,  their  missing  bodies  were  found  in  a  cleft  in  the 
bank. 

Lieutenant  DeLong's  pocket  journal  and  pencil  lay  on  the 
ground  beside  him.  It  seemed  apparent  that  he  and  his  two 
companions  had  died  the  day  that  the  last  entry  was  made. 
In  the  camp  kettle  near  by  were  some  Arctic  willows  of 
which  they  had  made  tea. 

"  The  place  where  the  bodies  of  DeLong' s  party  were 
found,"  wrote  Mr.  Jackson,  "  is  fifteen  miles  northeast  of  the 
island  of  Stolboy,  the  prominent  pillar-like  rock  in  the  Lena, 
where  the  river  branches  east  to  Bykoff.  DeLong  had  all 
along  imagined  that  Stolboy  was  a  myth,  and  supposed  he 
had  passed  it  long  before.  He  was  bewildered  by  the  maze 
of  rivers  flowing  and  intermingling  on  the  delta  proper,  and 
in  his  own  weak  condition  had  put  the  distances  accomplished 
longer  than  they  really  were. 

"Fate  seemed  against  him.  Had  he  landed  thirty  miles 
farther  west  he  would  have  struck  a  village  of  natives  who 
reside  north  of  Bulun  all  winter.  He  also  passed  by  within 
twenty  versts  of  a  hut  where  twenty  reindeer  carcasses  were 
hanging  for  the  winter  food.  He  had,  unfortunately,  no  shot- 
gun, from  its  having  been  left  by  his  orders  on  the  ice  when 
the  Jeannettc  went  down,  and  though  deer  were  rare,  there 
was  no  lack  of  ptarmigan.  On  the  day  Noros  and  Ninder- 
mann  were  sent  away  by  DeLong  a  large  flock  of  200  ptar- 
migan settled  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  party,  but 
none  were  shot.  With  a  single  shotgun  in  Alexai's  hands 
all  might  have  been  saved.  The  season  was  too  late  for 
deer. 

"A  strange  incident,  also,  came  to  my  knowledge  at 
Geemovialocke.  It  seems  that  some  Tunguse  natives,  traveling 


376  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

from  the  north  to  Bykoff ,  saw  the  footprints  of  the  party  two 
days  old  and  picked  up  the  Remington  which  DeLong  had 
left  in  a  hut  half  way  from  the  landing  place  to  the  bluff. 
The  natives  were  frightened,  and  thought  that  the  footprints 
were  those  of  smugglers  or  robbers,  and  left  the  ground  with- 
out following.  On  arriving  at  Geemovialocke  they  heard  of 
the  presence  of  the  Melville  party  and  the  loss  of  the 
captain's  party,  and  they,  fearing  to  be  punished  for  not  fol- 
lowing the  footsteps,  kept  their  information  to  themselves 
for  some  weeks,  until  too  late. 

"  DeLong  made  mistakes  in  endeavoring  to  secure  the 
safety  of  his  own  private  logs,  which  were  bulky,  as  well  as 
the  scientific  instruments  and  other  useless  impedimenta — a 
heavy  burden  for  the  men.  These  could  have  been  left  in  the 
cache  near  the  place  where  they  landed,  but  they  had  to  be 
borne  by  the  men  through  all  the  days  of  their  weary  march. 
These  things  filled  one  entire  dog  sled  when  found  near  the 
bluff.  After  Noros  and  Nindermann  left,  the  party  did  not 
make  more  than  eighteen  miles  from  October  9th  to  the  30th. 

"  DeLong' s  last  effort  was  to  carry  his  private  logs  and 
charts  up  from  the  place  under  the  bluff,  where  Mr.  Collins 
and  the  others  died,  and  where  they  would  have  been  swept 
away  by  the  spring  floods,  to  the  top  of  the  bluff  where  he  and 
the  doctor  and  Ah  Sam  perished.  But  he  only  succeeded  in 
carrying  the  chart  case  up.  Even  before  Noros  and  Ninder- 
mann left,  DeLong  was  very  weak.  He  used  to  walk  ten 
minutes  and  then  lie  down  to  rest,  saying  to  the  men :  — 

" 4  Don't  mind  me ;  go  on  as  far  as  you  can.     I  will  follow.* 

"  During  his  wanderings  on  the  delta  DeLong  built  a  large 
bonfire  as  high  as  thirty  feet  every  night,  the  last  one  being 
a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  bluff  where  they  all  perished, 
in  the  hopes  of  attracting  the  attention  of  parties  who,  he 
kept  saying,  would  certainly  be  out  looking  for  him.  But 
the  fires  blazed  in  vain.  There  was  not  a  human  being  at 
the  time  of  their  death  within  a  hundred  miles.  Melville's 
party  at  Geemovialocke  were  about  this  distance  away." 


RECAPITULATION,  377 

In  the  instructions  which  Mr.  Melville  as  commander  of 
the  whale-boat  party  received  from  Lieutenant  DeLong 
before  leaving  Bennett  Island  for  the  coast  of  Siberia,  he 
was  ordered,  in  case  of  separation  from  his  superior  officers, 
to  ascend  the  Lena  without  delay  to  a  Russian  settlement. 
In  attempting  to  carry  out  this  order,  Melville  and  his  men, 
after  entering  a  branch  of  the  Lena  River,  were  glad  to  place 
themselves  in  charge  of  natives,  who  undertook  to  pilot  them 
to  Bulun,  the  nearest  Russian  village.  On  the  way  thither 
the  formation  of  new  ice  in  the  river  compelled  them  to  halt 
at  a  Turiguse  village.  It  was  the  transition  period  between 
navigation  and  sledding,  and  the  natives  said  they  would 
have  to  remain  there  fifteen  days  till  the  river  was  sufficiently 
frozen. 

At  this  time  the  physical  condition  of  the  men  was  such 
that  Danenhower  was  not  sorry  they  were  obliged  to  halt, 
and  Melville,  Bartlett,  Leach,  and  Lauderback  had  to  be 
assisted  to  and  from  the  boat.  All  felt  the  effects  of  exposure 
or  frost-bites,  and  symptoms  of  scurvy  appeared.  Jiieuten- 
ant  Danenhower  says  in  his  narrative,  that  on  the  third 
morning  after  their  arrival  at  this  village  all  hands  except 
Jack  Cole,  the  Indian,  and  himself,  were  in  a  very  bad  condi- 
tion. Melville  was  so  disabled  while  in  this  settlement  that 
for  some  time  he  gave  the  charge  of  everything  to  Danen- 
hower. 

On  the  16th  of  October  an  exile  named  Kusmah  premoff 
started  for  Bulun,  and  he  told  Melville  he  would  be  back  in 
five  days.  He  was  a  capable  and  energetic  man,  and  Danen- 
hower says  he  acted  boldly  and  well.  But  he  did  not  get 
back  to  Geemovialocke  till  the  evening  of  October  29th,  when 
he  brought  Nindermann's  letter,  which  was  the  first  intima- 
tion Melville  had  of  DeLong's  distress.  Up  to  this  time  he  had 
had  no  reason  for  supposing  that  his  comrades  were  not  at 
least  as  well  off  as  his  own  party ;  and  if  he  had  known 
on  arriving  that  they  were  in  trouble, "  it  would,"  says  Lieu- 
tenant Danenhower,  "  have  been  impossible  to  make  a  search 


378 


THE  JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


north  of  the  village.  The  natives  positively  refused  to  go, 
and  we  were  wholly  dependent  upon  them  for  food."  Tho 
ineffectual  search  made  by  Danenhower  shows  that  at  that 
season  travel  was  impracticable,  owing  to  the  weakness  of 
the  ice;  and  the  condition  of  Melville  and  his  men  was 
another  reason  why  no  search  could  have  been  made. 

As  shown  by  DeLoug's  last  diary,  all  of  his  party  but  three 
were  dead  on  the  30th  of  October.  This  was  the  day  when 
Melville  started  for  Bulun,  and  during  his  subsequent  search 
trip,  which  occupied  twelve  days,  he  could  not,  under  any 
circumstances,  have  found  any  of  the  party  alive.  Doubtless 
his  own  experiences  on  the  trip  convinced  him  that  all  were 
dead. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

LIEUTENANT  DE  LONG'S  DIARY. 

THE  pathetic  story  of  the  wanderings,  hardships,  and 
intense  sufferings  o£  the  members  of  the  first  cutter 
party,  from  the  time  when  they  landed  on  the  Lena  delta 
down  to  October  1st,  as  recorded  by  Lieutenant  DeLong,  has 
been  given  in  Chapter  XL  The  sequel  to  this  story  was 
written  by  DeLong  in  his  note-book,  which  was  found  beside 
his  dead  body,  and  covers  a  period  extending  from  October 
1st  to  the  end. 

Lieutenant  DeLong's  diary  closes  without  any  reference 
to  himself,  Dr.  Ambler,  or  Ah  Sam.  The  bodies  of  these 
three  were  found  by  Melville,  lying  under  the  snow  near  each 
other,  and  partially  covered  by  pieces  of  the  tent  and  pieces 
of  blanket.  It  is  probable  that  they  did  not  long  survive  the 
last  of  their  comrades,  Mr.  Collins,  who  died  October  30th. 
The  deaths  of  all  the  others  had  been  previously  recorded. 
The  melancholy  record  is  as  follows : — 

SATURDAY,  October  1st, — lllth  day,  and  a  new  month. — 
Called  all  hands  as  soon  as  the  cook  announced  boil- 
ing water,  and  at  6.45  had  our  breakfast,  half  a  pound 
of  deer-meat  and  tea.  Sent  Nindermann  and  Alexai  to 
examine  the  main  river,  other  men  to  collect  wood.  The 
doctor  resumed  the  cutting  away  of  poor  Erickson's  toes  this 
morning.  No  doubt  it  will  have  to  continue  until  his  feet 
are  gone,  unless  death  ensues  or  we  get  to  some  settlement. 
Only  one  toe  left  now.  Weather  clear,  light  northeast  airs, 
barometer  30.15  at  6.05.  Temperature  eighteen  degrees  at 
7.30.  Nindermann  and  Alexai  were  seen  to  have  crossed,  and 
I  immediately  sent  men  to  carry  our  load  over.  Left  the  fol- 
lowing record : — 

[See  Record  No.  4,  on  page  129.] 


380  THE   JENNEATTB    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

At  8.30  made  the  final  trip  and  got  our  sick  man  over  in 
safety.  From  there  we  proceeded  until  11.20,  dragging  our 
man  on  the  sled.  Halted  for  dinner — half  pound  of  meat 
and  tea.  At  1  went  ahead  again  until  5.05.  Actually  under 
way  8.30  to  9.15,  9.30  to  10.20, 10.30  to  11.20,  1  to  1.40, 
1.50  to  2.10,  2.20  to  2.40,  3  to  3.25,  3.35  to  4,  4.15  to  4.35, 
4.45  to  5.05.  At  8  p.  M.  crawled  into  our  blankets. 

SUNDAY,  October  2d. — I  think  we  all  slept  fairly  well  until 
midnight,  but  from  that  time  forward  it  was  so  cold  and 
uncomfortable  that  sleep  was  out  of  the  question.  At  4.oO  wo 
were  all  out  and  in  front  of  the  fire,  daylight  just  appearing. 
Erickson  kept  talking  in  his  sleep  all  night,  and  effectually 
kept,  those  awake  who  were  not  already  awakened  by  th<* 
cold.  Breakfast  at  5  A.  M. — half  pound  of  meat  and  tea. 
Bright,  cloudless  morning,  light  northern  airs ;  barometer 
30.30  at  5.32  ;  temperature  at  6,  thirty-five  degrees.  At  7 
went  ahead,  following  the  frozen  water  whenever  we  could 
find  it,  and  at  9.20  I  felt  quite  sure  we  had  gone  some  dis- 
tance on  the  main  river.  I  think  our  gait  was  at  least  two 
miles  an  hour  and  our  time  under  way  2h.  40m.  1  calculate 
our  forenoon  work  at  least  six  miles,  7  to  7.35,  7.45  to  8.05, 
8.15  to  8.30,  8.40  to  8.50,  9.20  to  9.40,  9.50  to  10.12,  10.22 
to  10  40,  10.55  to  11.15.  Dinner,  1  to  1.30, 1.40  to  2,  2.15 
to  2.35,  2.45  to  3,  3.20  to  3.40,  3.50  to  4.05,  4.15  to  4.20. 
Camp.  Total,  5h.  15m. 

Two  miles  an  hour  distance  make  good  ten  to  twelve  miles, 
and  where  are  we  ?  I  think  it  the  beginning  of  the  Lena 
River  at  last.  Sagaster  has  been  to  us  a  myth.  We  saw 
two  old  huts  at  a  distance,  and  this  was  all ;  but  they  were 
out  of  our  road  and  the  day  not  half  gone.  Kept  on  the  ice 
all  the  way,  and,  therefore,  think  we  were  over  water;  but 
the  stream  was  so  narrow  and  so  crooked  that  it  never  could 
have  been  a  navigable  stream.  My  chart  is  simply  useless. 
I  must  go  on  plodding  to  the  southward,  trusting  in  God  to 
guide  me  to  some  settlement,  for  I  have  long  since  realized 
that  we  are  powerless  to  help  ourselves.  A  bright,  calm, 


LIEUTENANT    DE    LONG'S    DIARY.  881 

beautiful  day  brought  sunshine  to  cheer  us  up.  An  icy  road, 
and  one  day's  rations  yet.  Boats  frozen,  of  course,  and 
hauled  up.  No  hut  in  sight,  and  we  halt  on  a  bluff  to  spend 
a  cold  and  comfortless  night.  Supper — half  pound  meat 
and  tea.  Built  a  rousing  fire.  Built  a  log  bed.  Set  a  watch, 
two  hours  each,  to  keep  fire  going  and  get  supper.  Then  we 
stood  by  for  a  second  cold  and  wretched  night.  There  was 
so  much  wind  we  had  to  put  up  our  tent  halves  for  a  screen 
and  sit  shivering  in  our  half  blankets. 

MONDAY,  October  3d,  1881,— 113th  day.— It  was  so 
fearfully  cold  and  wretched  that  I  served  out  tea  to 
all  hands,  and  on  this  we  managed  to  struggle  along 
until  5  A.M.,  when  we  ate  our  last  deer-meat  and  had  more 
tea.  Our  morning  food  now  consists  of  four-fourteenths  of  a 
pound  of  pemmican  each,  and  a  half-starved  dog.  May  God 
again  incline  unto  our  aid  !  How  much  farther  we  have  to  go 
before  making  a  shelter  or  settlement,  He  only  knows.  Brisk 
winds,  barometer  30.23  at  1.50  temperature.  Erickson  seems 
failing.  He  is  weak  and  powerless,  and  the  moment  he 
closes  his  eyes  talks,  mostly  in  Danish,  German  and  English. 
No  one  can  sleep,  even  though  our  other  surroundings  per- 
mitted. For  some  cause  my  watch  stopped  at  10.45  last 
night  while  one  of  the  men  on  watch  had  it.  I  set  it  as  near 
as  I  could  by  guessing,  and  we  must  run  by  that  until  I  can 
do  better.  Sun  rose  yesterday  morning  at  6.40  by  the  watch 
when  running  all  right,  7.05  to  7.40,  7.50  to  8.20,  8.30  to 
9,  9.15  to  9.35,  9.50  to  10.10,  10.25  to  10.40,  11.  Back. 
11.20,  11.30,  11.40,  11.50.  Dinner.  35,  30,  30,  20,  20,  20; 
total,  155 — 2  hours  35  minutes,  say  five  miles. 

Our  force  means  work.  I  put  as  above  five  miles.  Some 
time  and  distance  were  lost  by  crossing  the  river  upon  seeing 
numerous  fox-traps.  A  man's  track  was  also  seen  in  the 
snow,  bound  south,  and  we  followed  it  until  it  crossed  the 
river  to  the  west  bank  again.  Here  we  were  obliged  to  go 
back  again  in  our  tracks,  for  the  river  was  open  in  places 
and  we  could  not  follow  the  man's  track  direct.  Another  of 
the  dozen  shoals  that  infest  the  river  swung  us  off  to  the 


382 


THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


eastward,  too,  and  I  hastened  to  get  on  the  west  bank  again, 
reaching  there  at  ten  minutes  to  twelve  for  dinner — our  last 
four-fourteenths  of  a  pound  of  pemmican. 

At  forty  minutes  past  one  got  under  way  again  and  mado 
a  long  spurt  until  twenty  minutes  past  two.  While  at  tho 
other  side  of  the  river  Alexai  said  he  saw  a  hut,  and  during 
our  dinner  camp  he  said  he  again  saw  a  hut.  Under  our 
circumstances  my  desire  was  to  get  to  it  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible. As  Alexai  points  out,  it  was  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  of  which  we  were  now  on  the  right  side,  looking  south, 
but  a  sand  bank  gave  us  excellent  walking  for  a  mile  or  two 


A  TIME  OF  TROUBLE. 

until  we  took  to  the  river  and  got  across  it  diagonally.  Here, 
at  twenty  minutes  past  two,  I  called  a  halt,  and  Alexia 
mounted  the  bluff  to  take  a  look  again.  He  now  announced 
he  saw  a  second  hut,  about  one  and  a  quarter  miles  back 
from  the  coast,  the  other  hut  being  about  the  same  distance 


LIEUTENANT    DE   LONG'S   DIARY.  383 

south  and  on  the  edge  of  the  bluff.  The  heavy  dragging 
across  the  country  of  a  sick  man  on  a  sled  made  me  incline 
to  the  hut  on  the  shore,  since,  as  the  distance  was  about  the 
same,  we  could  get  over  the  ice  in  one-third  of  the  time. 
Nindermann,  who  climbed  the  bluff,  saw  that  the  object 
inland  was  a  hut ;  was  not  so  confident  of  the  one  on  the 
shore.  Alexai,  however,  was  quite  positive,  and  not  seeing 
very  well  myself,  I  unfortunately  took  his  eyes  as  best  and 
ordered  an  advance  along  the  river  to  the  southward. 

Away  we  went,  Nindermann  and  Alexai  leading  and  had 
progressed  about  a  mile  when,  plash,  in  I  went  through  the 
ice  up  to  my  shoulders  before  my  knapsack  brought  me  up. 
While  I  was  crawling  out,  in  went  Gortz  to  his  neck  about 
fifty  yards  behind  me  ;  and  behind  him,  in  went  Mr.  Collins 
to  his  waist.  II ere  was  a  time.  The  moment  we  came  out  of 
the  water  we  were  one  sheet  of  ice,  and  danger  of  frost-bite  was 
imminent.  Along  we  hobbled,  however,  until  we  readied,  at 
3.45,  about  the  point  on  which  the  hut  was  seen.  Here  Nin- 
dermann climbed  the  bluff,  followed  by  the  doctor.  At  first 
the  cry  was,  "  All  right ;  come  ahead"  ;  but  no  sooner  were 
we  well  up,  than  Nindermann  shouted,  "  There  is  no  hut 
here." 

To  my  dismay  and  alarm  nothing  but  a  large  mound  of 
earth  was  to  be  seen,  which,  from  its  regular  shape  and  sin- 
gular position,  would  seem  to  have  been  built  artificially  for 
a  beacon.  So  sure  was  Nindermann  that  it  was  a  hut  that 
he  went  all  round  it  looking  for  a  door,  and  then  climbed  on 
top  to  look  for  a  hole  in  the  roof.  But  of  no  avail.  It  was 
nothing  but  a  mound  of  earth.  Sick  at  heart,  1  ordered  a 
camp  to  be  made  in  a  hole  in  the  bluff  face,  and  soon  before 
a  roaring  fire  we  were  drying  and  burning  our  clothes,  while 
the  cold  wind  ate  into  our  backs. 

And  now  for  supper  nothing  remained  but  the  dog.  I 
therefore  ordered  him  killed  and  dressed  by  Iverson,  and 
soon  after  a  stew  was  made  of  such  parts  as  could  not  bo 
carried,  of  which  everybody  except  the  doctor  and  myself 
eagerly  partook.  To  us  two  it  was  a  nauseating  mess,  and 
23 


384  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

— but  why  go  on  with  such  a  disagreeable  subject.  I  had 
the  remainder  weighed,  and  I  am  quite  sure  we  had  twenty- 
seven  pounds.  The  animal  was  fat,  and  as  he  had  been  fed 
on  pemmican,  presumably  clean;  but,  immediately  upon 
halting,  I  sent  Alexai  off  with  his  gun  inland  toward  the  hut, 
to  determine  whether  that  was  a  myth  like  our  present  one. 
He  returned  about  dark,  certain  that  it  was  a  large  hut,  for 
he  had  been  inside  of  it,  and  had  found  .some  deer-meat 
scraps  and  bones. 

For  a  moment  I  was  tempted  to  start  everybody  for  it,  but 
Alexai  was  by  no  means  sure  he  could  find  it  in  the  dark,  and 
if  we  lost  our  way  we  would  be  worse  off  than  before.  We 
accordingly  prepared  to  make  the  best  of  it  where  we  were. 
We  three  wet  people  were  burning  and  steaming  before  the 
fire.  Collins  and  Gortz  had  taken  some  alcohol,  but  1  could 
not  get  it  down.  Cold  weather,  with  a  raw  northwest  wind 
impossible  to  avoid  or  screen,  our  future  was  a  wretched, 
dreary  night.  Erickson  soon  became  delirious,  and  his  talk- 
ing was  a  horrible  accompaniment  to  the  wretchedness  of 
our  surroundings.  Warm  we  could  not  get,  and  getting  dry 
seemed  out  of  the  question.  Every  one  seemed  dazed  and 
stupified,  and  I  feared  some  of  us  would  perish  during  the 
night. 

How  cold  it  was  I  don't  know,  as  my  last  thermometer 
was  broken  by  my  many  falls  upon  the  ice;  but  I  think  it 
must  have  been  below  zero.  A  watch  was  set  to  keep  the 
fire  going,  and  we  huddled  around  it,  and  thus  our  third 
night  witbout  sleep  was  passed.  If  Alexai  had  not  wrapped 
his  sealskin  around  me,  and  sat  alongside  of  me  to  keep  me 
warm  by  the  heat  of  his  body,  I  think  I  should  have  frozen 
to  death.  As  it  was,  I  steamed  and  shivered  and  shook. 
Erick son's  groans  and  rambling  talk  rang  out  on  the  night 
air,  and  such  a  dreary,  wretched  night  I  hope  I  shall  never 
again  see. 

TUESDAY,  October  4th, — 114th  day. — At  the  first  approach 
of  daylight  we  all  began  to  move  around  and  the  cook  was  set 
to  work  making  tea.  The  doctor  now  made  the  unpleasant 


LIEUTENANT   DE  LONG'S    DIARY. 


385 


discovery  that  Erickson  had  got  his  gloves  off  during  the 
night,  and  that  now  his  hands  were  frozen.  Men  were  at 
once  set  at  work  rubbing  them,  and  by  6  A.  M.  had  so  far  re- 
stored circulation  as  to  risk  moving  the  man.  Each  one  had 


"SUCH  A  DREARY,  WRETCHED  NIGHT.1' 

hastily  swallowed  a  cup  of  tea  and  got  his  load  in  readiness. 
Erickson  was  quite  unconscious,  and  we  lashed  him  on  the 
sled.  A  southwest  gale  was  blowing  and  the  sensation  of 
cold  was  intense.  But  at  6  A.  M.  we  started,  made  a  forced 
march  of  it,  and  at  8  A.  M.  had  got  the  sick  man  and  our- 
selves, thank  God,  under  cover  of  a  hut  large  enough  to  hold 
us.  Here  we  at  once  made  a  fire  and  for  the  first  time  since 
Saturday  morning  last  got  warm. 

The  doctor  at  once  examined  Erickson  and  found  him  very 
low  and  feeble.  He  was  quite  unconscious,  and  under  the 
shock  of  last  night's  exposure  was  sinking  very  fast.  Fears 
were  entertained  that  he  might  not  last  many  hours,  and  i 


386  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

therefore  called  upon  every  one  to  join  me  in  reading  the 
prayers  for  a  sick  person  before  we  sought  any  rest  for  our- 
selves. This  was  done  in  a  quiet  and  reverent  manner, 
though  I  fear  my  broken  utterances  made  but  little  of  the 
service  audible.  Then,  setting  a  watch,  we  all,  except  Alexai, 
lay  down  to  sleep.  At  10  A.  M.  Alexai  went  off  to  hunt,  but 
returned  at  noon  wet,  having  broken  through  the  ice  and 
fallen  in  the  river.  At  6  p.  M.  we  roused  up,  and  I  consid- 
ered it  necessary  to  think  of  some  food  for  my  party.  Half 
a  pound  of  dog  meat  was  fried  for  each  person,  and  a  cup  of 
tea  given,  and  that  constituted  our  day's  food ;  but  we  were 
so  grateful  that  we  were  not  exposed  to  the  merciless  south- 
west gale  that  tore  around  us,  that  we  did  not  mind  short 
rations. 

WEDNESDAY,  October  5th, — 115th  day. — The  cook  com- 
mences at  7.30  to  get  tea  made  from  yesterday's  tea-leaves. 
Nothing  to  serve  out  until  evening.  Half  a  pound  of  dog 
meat  per  day  is  our  food  until  some  relief  is  afforded  us. 
Alexai  went  off  hunting  again  at  nine,  and  I  set  the  men 
gathering  light  sticks  enough  to  make  a  flooring  for  the 
house ;  for  the  frozen  ground  thawing  under  everybody,  kept 
them  damp  and  wet  and  robbed  them  of  much  sleep.  South- 
west gale  continues.  Barometer,  30.12  at  2.40.  Mortifica- 
tion has  set  in  in  Erickson's  leg,  and  he  is  sinking.  Ampu- 
tation would  be  of  no  use,  as  he  would  probably  die  under 
the  operation.  He  is  partially  conscious.  At  twelve  Alexai 
came  back,  having  seen  nothing.  He  crossed  the  river  this 
time,  but  unable  longer  to  face  the  cold  gale  was  obliged  to 
return.  I  am  of  opinion  we  are  on  Titary  Island,  on  its 
eastern  side,  and  about  twenty -five  miles  from  Kumak  Surka, 
which  I  take  to  be  a  settlement.  This  is  the  last  hope  for 
us.  Sagaster  has  long  since  faded  away.  The  hut  in  which 
we  are  is  quite  new,  and  clearly  not  the  astronomical  station 
made  on  my  chart.  In  fact,  the  hut  is  not  finished,  having 
no  door  and  no  porch.  It  may  be  intended  for  a  summer 
hut,  though  the  numerous  fox-traps  would  lead  me  to  sup- 
pose that  it  would  occasionally  be  visited  at  other  times. 


LIEUTENANT   DB  t/)NG*S   DIARY. 


387 


Upon  this  last  chance,  and  another  sun,  rest  all  our  hopes  of 
escape,  for  I  can  see  nothing  more  to  be  done.  As  soon  as 
the  gale  abates  I  shall  send  Nindermann  and  another  man  to 
make  a  forced  inarch  to  Kuinak  Surka  for  relief.  At  six 
p.  M.  served  out  half  pound  of  dog  meat  and  second-hand  tea 
and  then  went  to  sleep. 

THURSDAY,  Oct.  6th— 116th  day.— Called  all  hands  at  7:30. 
Had  a  cup  of  third-hand  tea,  with  half  an  ounce  of  alcohol  in 
it.  Everybody  very  weak.  Gale  moderating  somewhat.  Sent 
Alexai  out  to  hunt.  Shall  start  Nindermann  and  Noro»  at 
noon  to  make  the  forced  march  to  Kumak  Surka.  At  8:45 
our  messmate,  Erickson,  departed  this  life.  Addressed  a  few 
words  of  cheer  and  comfort  to  the  men.  Alexai  came  back 


BURIAL  OF  ERICKSON. 


empty-handed — too  much  drifting  snow.  What  in  God's 
name  is  going  to  become  of  us  ?  Fourteen  pounds  of  dog 
meat  left  and  twenty-five  miles  to  a  possible  settlement. 


388  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

As  to  burying  Erickson,  I  cannot  dig  a  grave,  for  the  ground 
is  frozen  and  we  have  nothing  to  dig  with.  There  is  nothing 
to  do  but  bury  him  in  the  river.  Sewed  him  up  in  the  flaps 
of  the  tent  and  covered  him  with  my  flag.  Got  ten  men 
ready,  and  with  half  an  ounce  of  alcohol  we  will  try  to  make 
out  to  bury  him,  but  we  are  all  so  weak  I  do  not  see  ho\vr 
we  are  going  to  travel.  At  12:40  read  the  burial  service 
and  carried  our  departed  shipmate  to  the  river,  where  a  hole 
having  been  cut  in  the  ice  he  was  buried,  three  volleys  from 
OUF  Remingtons  being  fired  over  him  as  a  funeral  honor. 
A  board  was  prepared  with  this  cut  on  it : — 

"  In  memory  of  H.  H.  Erickson,  October  6,  1881.  U.  S. 
S.  Jeannette."  And  this  will  be  stuck  in  the  river  bank 
almost  over  his  grave. 

His  clothing  was  divided  up  among  his  messmates.  Iver- 
son  has  his  Bible  and  a  lock  of  his  hair.  Supper  at  five 
p.  M.,half  a  pound  of  dog  meat  and  tea. 

FRIDAY,  Oct.  7th — 117th  day. — Breakfast,  consisting  of  our 
last  half  pound  of  dog  meat  and  tea.  Our  last  grain  of  tea 
was  put  in  the  kettle  this  morning,  and  we  are  now  about 
to  undertake  our  journey  of  twenty-five  miles  with  some  old 
tea  leaves  and  two  quarts  of  alcohol.  However,  I  trust  in 
God,  and  I  believe  that  He  who  has  fed  us  thus  far  will  not 
suffer  us  to  die  of  want  now.  Commenced  preparation  for 
departure  at  ten  minutes  past  seven.  One  Winchester 
rifle  being  out  of  order,  is,  with  161  rounds  of  ammunition, 
left  behind.  We  have  with  us  two  Remingtons  and  243 
rounds  of  ammunition.  Left  the  following  record  in  the 
hut:— 

"  FRIDAY,  Oct.  7th,  1881. — The  undermentioned  officers 
and  men  of  the  late  United  States  steamer  Jeannette  are 
leaving  here  this  morning  to  make  a  forced  march  to  Ku- 
mak  Surka  or  some  other  settlement  on  the  Lena  River. 
We  reached  here  Tuesday,  October  4th,  with  a  disabled 
comrade,  H.  H.  Erickson,  seaman,  who  died  yesterday  morn- 
ing and  was  buried  in  the  river  at  noon. 


LIEUTENANT   DE  LONG'S   DIARY.  889 

"  His  death  resulted  from  frost  bite  and  exhaustion  due 
to  consequent  exposure. 

"  The  rest  of  us  are  well,  but  have  no  provisions  left, 
having  eaten  our  last  this  morning." 

Under  way  by  8:30  and  proceeded  until  11:20,  by  which 
time  we  had  made'  about  three  miles.  Here  we  were  all 
pretty  well  done  up,  and  -  seemed  to  be  wandering  in  a  laby- 
rinth. A  large  lump  of  wood  swept  in  by  an  eddy  seemed 
to  be  a  likely  place  to  get  hot  water,  and  I  halted  the 
party  for  dinner — one  ounce  of  alcohol  in  a  pot  of  tea. 
Then  went  ahead  and  soon  struck  what  seemed  like  the 
main  river  again.  Here  four  of  us  broke  through  the  ice  in 
trying  to  cross,  and,  fearing  frost-bite,  I  had  a  fire  built  on 
the  west  bank  to  dry  us  up.  Sent  Alexai  off,  meanwhile,  to 
look  for  food,  directing  him  not  to  go  far  or  stay  long  ;  but 
at  1:30  he  had  not  returned,  nor  was  he  in  sight.  Light 
southwest  breeze,  foggy.  Mountains  in  sight  to  southward 
At  5:30  Alexai  returned  with  one  ptarmigan,  of  which  we 
made  soup,  and  with  half  an  ounce  of  alcohol  had  our  sup- 
per. Then  crawled  under  our  blankets  for  a  sleep.  Light 
west  breeze,  full  moon,  starlight,  •  not  very  cold.  Alexai 
saw  the  river  a  mile  wide,  with  no  ice  in  it. 

SATURDAY,  Oct.  8th — 118th  day. — Called  all  hands  at  half- 
past  five.  Breakfast,  one  ounce  of  alcohol  in  a  pint  of  hot 
water. 

Doctor's  Note. — Alcohol  proves  of  great  advantage.  Keeps 
off  craving  for  food,  preventing  gnawing  at  stomach  and  has 
kept  up  the  strength  of  the  men,  as  given — three  ounces  per 
day,  as  estimated,  and  in  accordance  with  Dr.  Ambler's 
experiments. 

Went  ahead  until  half-past  ten.  One  ounce  alcohol. 
Half-past  six  to  half-past  ten,  five  miles  struck  Big  Biver  at 
11:30.  Ahead  again.  Snow  banks.  Met  small  river,  have 
to  turn  back.  Halt  at  five  ;  only  made  advance  one  mile 
more.  Hard  luck.  Snow.  South-southwest  wind,  cold. 
Camp.  But  little  wood.  Half  an  ounce  of  alcohol. 

SUNDAY,  Oct.  9th— 119th  day.— All  hands  at  4:30.     One 


390  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 

ounce  of  alcohol.  Read  divine  service.  Send  Nindermann 
and  Noros  ahead  for  relief.  They  carry  their  hlankcts,  one 
rifle,  forty  rounds  of  ammunition  and  two  ounces  of  alcohol. 
Orders  to  keep  the  west  bank  of  river  until  they  reach  a 
settlement.  They  started  at  seven.  Cheered  them.  Under 
way  at  eight.  Crossed  the  creek.  Broke  through  the  ice. 
All  wet  up  to  knees.  Stopped  and  built  fires.  Dried  clothes. 
Under  way  again  at  10.30.  Lee  breaking  down.  At  one 
struck  river  bank.  Halt  for  dinner;  one  ounce  alcohol. 
Alexai  shot  three  ptarmigan.  Made  soup.  We  arc  follow- 
ing Nindermann's  track,  although  he  is  long  since  out  of 
sight.  Underway  at  3:30.  High  bluff.  Ice  moving  rapidly 
to  northward  in  the  river.  Halt  at  4:40  on  .coming  to  wood. 
Find  canal  boat.  Lay  our  heads  in  it  and  go  to  sleep.  Half 
ounce  alcohol.  Supper. 

MONDAY,  Oct.  10th — 120th  day. — Last  half  ounce  of  alco- 
hol at  5:30.  At  6:30  sent  Alexai  off  to  look  for  ptarmigan. 
Eat  deer  skin  scraps.  Yesterday  morning  ate  my  deer  skin 
foot  nips.  Light  southeast  wind.  Air  not  very  cold. 
Under  way  at  eight.  In  crossing  creek  three  of  us  got  wet. 
Built  fire  and  dried  out.  Ahead  again  until  eleven ;  used 
up.  Built  fire ;  made  a  drink  out  of  the  tea  leaves  from 
alcohol  bottle.  On  again  at  noon.  Fresh  south-southwest 
wind.  Drifting  snow.  Very  hard  going.  Lee  begging  to 
be  left.  Some  little  beach  and  then  long  stretches  of 
high  bank.  Ptarmigan  tracks  plentiful.  Following  Ninder- 
mann's track.  At  three  halted,  used  up.  Crawled  into  a 
hole  in  the  bank.  Collected  wood  and  built  a  fire.  Alexai 
away  in  quest  of  game.  Nothing  for  supper  except  a  spoon- 
ful of  glycerine.  All  hands  weak  and  feeble,  but  cheerful. 
God  help  us. 

TUESDAY,  Oct.  llth — 121st  day — Southwest  gale,  with 
enow.  Unable  to  move.  No  game.  Teaspoonful  of  glycer- 
ine and  hot  water  for  food.  No  more  wood  in  our  vicinity. 

WEDNESDAY,  Oct.  12th — 122d  day. — Breakfast,  last  spoon- 
ful of  glycerine  and  hot  water.  For  dinner  we  had  a  couple 
of  handsful  of  Arctic  willow  in  a  pot  of  water,  and  drank 


LIEUTENANT   DE  LONG'S   DIARY.  391 

the  infusion.  Everybody  getting  weaker  and  weaker. 
Hardly  strength  to  get  firewood.  Southwest  gale,  with 
snow. 

THURSDAY,  Oct.  13th — 123d  day. — Willow  tea.  Strong 
southwest  winds.  No  news  from  Nindermann.  We  are 
in  the  hands  of  God,  and  unless  He  relents  are  lost.  We 
cannot  move  against  the  wind,  and  staying  here  means 
(starvation.  After  noon  went  ahead  for  a  mile,  crossing 
either  another  river  or  a  wind  in  the  big  one.  After  cross- 
ing missed  Lee.  Went  down  in  a  hole  in  the  bank  and 
camped.  Sent  back  for  Lee.  He  had  laid  down,  and  was 
waiting  to  die.  All  united  in  saying  the  Lord's  Prayer  and 
Creed.  After  supper  strong  gale  of  wind.  Horrible  night. 

FRIDAY,  Oct.  14th — 124th  day. — Breakfast,  willow  tea. 
Dinner,  half  tea,  spoonful  sweet  oil  and  willow  tea.  Alexai 
shot  one  ptarmigan.  Had  soup.  Southwest  wind  modera- 
ting. 

SATURDAY,  Oct.  15th — 125th  day. — Breakfast,  willow  tea 
and  two  old  boots.  Conclude  to  move  at  sunrise.  Alexai 
broken  down ;  also  Lee.  Came  to  an  empty  grain  raft. 
Halt  and  camp.  Signs  of  smoke  at  twilight  to  southward. 

SUNDAY,  Oct.  16th — 126th  day. — Alexai  broken  down. 
Divine  service. 

MONDAY,  Oct.  17th — 127th  day. — Alexai  dying.  Doctor 
baptised  him.  Read  prayers  for  sick.  Mr.  Collins'  birth- 
day, forty  years  old.  About  sunset  Alexai  died.  Exhaus- 
tion from  starvation.  Covered  him  with  ensign  and  laid 
him  in  the  crib. 

TUESDAY,  Oct.  18th— 128th  day.— Calm  and  mild.  Snow 
falling.  Buried  Alexai  in  the  afternoon.  Laid  him  on  the 
ice  of  the  river  and  covered  him  over  with  slabs  of  ice. 

WEDNESDAY,  Oct.  19th — 129th  day. — Cutting  up  tent  to 
make  foot  gear.  Doctor  went  ahead  to  find  new  camp. 
Shifted  by  dark. 

THURSDAY,  Oct.  20th — 130th  day. — Bright  and  sunny,  but 
very  cold.  Lee  and  Kaack  done  up. 

FRIDAY,  Oct.  21st— 131st  day.— Kaack   was   found  dead 


392  THE   JBANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

about  midnight  between  the  doctor  and  myself.  Lee  died 
about  noon.  Read  prayers  for  sick  when  we  found  he  was 
going. 

SATURDAY,  Oct.  22d— 132d  day. — Too  weak  to  carry  the 
bodies  of  Lee  and  Kaack  out  on  the  ice.  The  doctor,  Col- 
lins and  myself  carried  them  around  the  corner  out  of  sight. 
Then  my  eye  closed  up. 

SUNDAY,  Oct.  23d, — 133d  day. — Everybody  pretty  weak. 
Slept  or  rested  to-day,  and  then  managed  to  get  enough 
wood  in  before  dark.  Read  part  of  divine  service.  Suffer- 
ing in  our  feet.  No  foot  gear. 

MONDAY,  Oct.  24th — 134th  day. — A  hard  night. 

TUESDAY,  Oct.  25th— 135th  day. 

WEDNESDAY,  Oct.  26th— 136th  day. 

THURSDAY,  Oct.  27th — 137th  day. — Iverson  broken  down. 

FRIDAY,  Oct.  28th — 138th  day. — Iverson  died  during  earlj 
morning. 

SATURDAY,  Oct.  29th — 139th  day. — Dressier  died  during 
the  night. 

SUNDAY,  Oct.  30th— 140th  day.— Boyd  and  Gortz  died 
during  the  night.  Mr.  Collins  dying. 


DE  LONG'S  DIARY. 

With  reeling  brain  and  stiffening  limbs,  that  bleak  October  morn. 
Our  brave  commander  knelt,  while  we,  his  comrades,  all  forlorn, 
Hugged  close  the  fire  of  faggots  piled  against  the  icy  wall, 
And  snow  and  ice  around  us  beat,  and  clothed  us  like  a  pall. 

Close,  aye,  within  the  very  flame  we  grouped  in  our  despair, 

For  God  had  surely  left  the  lonely  crew  to  perish  there ! 

But  in  our  breasts  a  rebel  cry  sunk  softened  with  a  tear, 

When  brave  DeLong  spoke  low  of  home  and  wives  and  children  dear. 

His  book  and  pencil  in  his  hands,  he  essayed,  with  a  smile, 
To  mark  the  closing  record  of  our  wanderings ; — many  a  mile 
Of  frozen  sea  we'd  trudged  across,  and  many  a  league  of  snow, 
And  now,  on  Tit  Ary's  icy  isle,  we  faced  at  last  our  foe. 


LIEUTENANT    DE  LONG'S    DIARY.  898 

The  fire  in  front,  Death  at  our  backs,  we  calmly  waited  there, 
To  know  the  worst,  and  trust  in  God,  who  always  answers  prayer. 
Our  chiefs  numb  fingers  slowly  moved  across  the  log-book  leaf, 
While  Erickson  lay  dying,  and  we  crouched  dumb  with  grief. 

No  word  from  Kumak  Surka  came,  where  Nindermann  had  gone, 
His  footprints  mocked  us  in  the  snow  on  that  October  morn, — 
That  Sabbath  still  and  silent,  as  we  shrunk  with  bated  breath, 
Each  sheeted  in  an  icy  shroud — all  holding  tryst  with  Death. 

Then  Erickson,  brave  Erickson,  at  last  gave  up  the  tight; — 
He  was  buried  in  the  river  in  the  fierce  Siberian  night, — 
The  Arctic  wind  his  requiem,  the  Arctic  wave  his  pall, — 
Then  to  our  meager  fire  we  crept,  where  gloom  fell  o'er  us  all. 

Oh,  God!  those  days  that  followed!     What  half-way  hopes  and  fears! 
What  earnest  prayers  and  unheard  groans,  and  melting  hearts  and  tears  t 
What  hunger  keen,  and  faces  blanched !  what  howling  Polar  wind, 
That  pierced  the  marrow,  mocked  at  fire,  and  almost  made  us  blind. 

Alexai,  our  stout  hunter,  who  had  breasted  many  a  storm, 
To  give  his  messmates  food  and  fire,  their  freezing  limbs  to  warm 
The  sturdy  oak  lay  felled  nt  last  before  the  scythe-like  frost ; 
He,  too,  within  the  Lena  lies,  by  its  strong  current  tost. 

Then  others,  tired  of  battling  cold  and  hunger,  drooped  and  died, 
Uor  strength  had  we  to  bury  them — they  lay  there  by  our  side; 
But  surely  Christ  the  Saviour  who  within  a  manger  lay, 
Took  pity  on  us,  desolate,  that  bleak  October  day. 

For  on  us  dawned  a  quietude,  a  holy  soothing  calm, 
And  keen  and  cutting  Arctic  winds  breathed  voices  like  a  psalm; 
The  sounding  of  the  river  running  north  beneath  the  ice, 
Seemed  whisperings  of  angels  on  the  shores  of  Paradise. 

Then  pain  and  hunger  left  us — left  us  all  our  weary  aches, 
And  our  forebodings  sad  of  home  for  wife  and  children's  sakes. 
lyersen  and  Dressier  silent!  Boyd — and  Gortz,  too, — speak  my  friend, 
— 'Tis  the  Sabbath — Collins — dying  *  *  *  *  and  the  log  was  at  an  end. 

New  York  Star. 


CHAPTER  XXXII, 

NEW  SEARCHERS  IN  THE  FIELD. 
(BERRY,  HUNT,  AND  GILDER — HARBER  AND  BCHKUTZE.) 

AFTER  attending  to  the  burial  of  Lieutenant  DeLong 
-  and  his  men  and  completing  their  tomb,  the  three 
parties  separated  to  search  the  delta  for  Lieutenant  Chipp. 
Melville  went  to  the  northwest,  Bartlett  to  the  northeast^ 
and  Nindermann  took  the  center.  The  sea-coast  of  the  delta 
was  examined  from  Olenek  River  on  the  west  to  Yana 
River  on  the  east,  but  no  traces  were  found  of  the  second 
cutter  or  her  crew.  The  search  was  extensive,  but  could 
not  be  made  very  thorough,  owing  to  the  depth  of  the 
Bnowd  rifts. 

After  examining  the  delta,  Melville  and  his  reunited  partj 
proceeded  to  Verhoyansk.  From  this  place  they  started  for 
Yakutsk  on  sleds,  but  after  going  120  miles  they  were 
obliged  to  take  to  horseback.  At  the  deer  station  of  Kengu- 
rach,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Verhoyansk  mountains, 
they  were  obliged  to  halt,  as  it  was  impossible  for  the  horses 
to  pass  the  snowdrifts,  which  were  from  ten  to  twenty  feet 
deep.  While  waiting  for  the  snow  to  melt  they  were  joined 
by  three  American  travelers — Mr.  Jackson,  the  Herald  cor- 
respondent, and  Lieutenant  Berry  and  Ensign  Hunt  of  the 
Jeannette  search  steamer  Rodgers. 

Some  account  of  Mr.  Jackson's  journey  to  Irkutsk,  where 
he  met  Panenhower's  party,  has  already  been  given.  Sub- 
sequently he  proceeded  to  Yakutsk,  accompanied  by  Mr* 
Noros,  and  started  north,  March  29th,  to  join  in  the  search. 
On  reaching  Aldan  River,  he  met  a  courier  carrying  dispatches 
from  W.  H.  Gilder,  Pay  Clerk  of  the  steamer  Rodgers,  to 

(394) 


TRAVELERS   FROM   THE   EAST   AND   THE    WEST.  395 

General  Tchernieff,  and  heard  the  startling  news  that  the 
Rodgers  had  been  burned  at  her  winter-harbor  in  St.  Lawrence 
Bay.  The  courier  had  accompanied  Mr.  Gilder  from  Nischni 
(or  Nijni)  Kolymsk,  on  the  Kolyma  River,  to  Verhoyansk, 
where  they  arrived  March  28th  ;  and  from  this  place  Gilder, 
hearing  of  the  loss  of  the  Jeannette,  had  started  north, 
March  29th,  hoping  to  fall  in  with  Melville's  party.  Sub- 
sequently he  returned  south,  and  proceeded  to  Yakutsk. 

Continuing  his  journey  to  the  de\ta,  Mr.  Jackson  visited 
Geemovialocke,  and  the  bluff  where  Lieutenant  DeLong 
and  his  party  perished,  and  also  their  tomb.  He  followed 
the  track  of  Nindermann  and  Noros  to  Bulun,  and  thence 
proceeded  to  Verhoyansk,  where  he  learned  that  Lieutenant 
Berry  and  Ensign  Hunt,  of  the  Rodgers,  had  lately  arrived 
there  and  gone  south  on  horseback ;  they  had  brought  news 
of  additional  disaster — the  loss  of  Mr.  Putnam,  one  of  the 
most  talented  officers  of  the  Rodgers  expedition,  who  had 
been  carried  out  to  sea  on  floating  ice. 

Mr.  Jackson  overtook  Berry  and  Hunt  below  Verhoyansk^ 
and  traveled  with  them  to  Kengurach,  where  they  joined 
Melville,  as  previously  stated. 

After  waiting  a  few  days  longer  for  the  snow  to  melt,  they 
all  started  on  together.  On  reaching  Aldan  River  they 
learned  that  Mr.  Gilder  had  arrived  there  ten  days  before, 
and  had  been  caught  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  river  when 
the  ice  broke  up,  and  for  seven  days  his  party  had  to  live  (on 
a  narrow  piece  of  land  which  is  frequently  covered  with 
water)  on  the  flesh  of  one  of  their  horses.  He  had  for  a 
traveling  companion  at  this  time  Constantine  Buhokoff  (who 
was  conveying  papers  from  Melville  to  Yakutsk),  and  in 
order  to  save  his  own  dispatches  and  those  from  Melville, 
the  boxes  containing  them  were  placed  in  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 
The  water  rose  thirty  feet  in  a  few  hours. 

The  party  consisting  of  Melville,  Bartlett,  Nindermann, 
Berry,  Hunt,  Jackson,  and  Noros  finally  reached  Yakutsk, 
June  8th,  in  safety,  losing,  however,  on  their  journey  ten 
reindeer  and  eight  horses,  which  were  left  on  the  roadside 


396  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

exhausted.     One  horse,  too,  was  lost  in  crossing  the  quick- 
sands of  the  Lena  near  the  city. 

On  reaching  Yakutsk,  Mr.  Melville  learned  that  Lieutenant 
Giles  B.  Harber  and  Master  W.  H.  Scheutze  —  two  naval 
officers  who  had  been  sent  out  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
to  search  for  Lieutenant  Chipp — had  arrived  at  Vitimsk,  a 
town  at  the  junction  of  the  Lena  and  Vitim  rivers.  These 
gentlemen  left  New  York  early  in  February  by  steamer,  and 
proceeded  via  London,  and  Paris  to  St.  Petersburg,  where 
they  arrived  February  20th.  Here  they  consulted  with  Mr. 
Hoffman,  General  Ignatieff,  the  Governor-general  of  Siberia, 
and  other  officials,  all  of  whom  were  particularly  kind  and 
anxious  to  render  assistance.  Special  traveling  passes  and 
very  valuable  charts  and  books  were  furnished  them. 

At  Moscow  the  travelers  were  cordially  received  by  the 
French  Consul,  who  entertained  them  at  dinner,  introduced 
them  to  the  governor,  and  saw  them  started  on  their  journey. 

On  their  way  to  Irkutsk,  at  Nijni  Ujinsk,  Messrs.  Harber 
and  Scheutze  met  Lieutenant  Danenhower's  party  going 
home;  and  by  permission  of  Secretary  Hunt,  Leach,  Wilson, 
Mansen,  Lauderback,  and  Anequin  cheerfully  turned  back 
with  Harber  and  Scheutze  to  assist  them  in  the  search  for 
Chipp.  Mr.  Noros  had  previously  gone  back  with  Mr.  Jack- 
son. 

It  was  supposed  that  the  steamer  Lena  would  be  chartered 
for  the  use  of  the  search-party,  as  her  owner,  Mr.  Sibiriakoff, 
had  kindly  tendered  her  to  Mr.  Bennett  for  that  purpose; 
but  on  arriving  at  Irkutsk,  Lieutenant  Harber  found  that 
she  had  been  sold,  and  that  her  new  owner  demanded  an 
exorbitant  price  for  her  use  during  the  summer.  He  accord- 
ingly chartered  (subject,  however,  to  inspection)  another 
steamer,  the  General  Simlinikoif,  which  was  then  lying  in 
the  Vitim  River,  some  distance  above  Vitimsk. 

Meantime  Mr.  Scheutze  and  four  of  the  seamen  had  gone 
on  to  Vitimsk ;  and  Mr.  Harber,  with  Mr.  Mansen  and  an 
interpreter,  started  from  Irkutsk,  April  13th,  to  rejoin  them. 
The  snow  had  gone  from  the  ground  and  the  rivers  were 


X 
UEUTENANT    HARBER18    EXPEDITION.  397 

breaking  up,  so  that  the  roads  were  nearly  impassable. 
Three  hundred  and  fifty  versts  were  traveled  in  post-wagons, 
over  900  versts  in  sleds  (much  of  the  latter  being  through 
mud  and  water),  and  nearly  250  versts  were  made  on  horse- 
back. "  Just  as  we  had  crossed  a  river  by  swimming  our 
horses,"  says  Harber,  "and  when  the  opposite  bank  was 
reached,  a  wonderful  noise  from  up  the  river  caused  the 
natives  to  hasten  up  the  river  bank  with  horses  and  parcels, 
and  at  once  the  river  rose  some  six  feet  in  three  minutes, 
and  the  river  itself  was  filled  with  immense  masses  of  ice  in 
which  no  boat  could  live." 

Vitimsk  was  finally  reached,  April  28th.  Mr.  Scheutze 
had  seen  the  steamer  and  reported  unfavorably  respecting  it. 
The  same  day  Harber  went  on  to  Viska,  where  he  learned 
that  it  would  be  nearly  impossible  to  get  to  Voronzofsky 
where  the  steamer  was ;  it  was  110  versts  distant  through 
an  uninhabited  country,  and  the  river,  the  only  route  to  the 
place,  was  no  longer  safe.  "I  concluded,"  says  Harber,  "to 
wait  at  Viska  until  the  river  broke  up,  and  in  the  meantime 
to  have  two  dories  built.  I  also  found  a  boat  fifty  feet  long 
and  nearly  ten  feet  beam,  which  could  readily  be  made  into 
a  schooner  sufficiently  large  and  strong  to  do  work  along  the 
coast  outside  of  the  delta.  I  accordingly  purchased  it  and 
commenced  repairing  it." 

Finally,  towards  the  last  of  May,  Harber  and  Scheutze 
reached  Voronzofsky,  and  navigated  the  steamer  to  Viska. 
"  During  the  trip  down  the  river,"  says  Harber,  writing  from 
Viska,  June  llth,  "  I  inspected  the  hull  and  engines  and 
measured  the  amount  of  wood  she  burned.  The  result  was, 
we  found  her  quite  unfit  for  our  purpose  and  I  declined  to 
accept  her.  Too  large  a  surface  was  exposed  to  the  action 
of  the  waves,  and  she  burned  so  much  fuel  that  we  would 
have  to  return  frequently  for  wood.  We  were  detained  here, 
but  now  all  is  ready,  and  we  leave  at  once  with  our  boats. 
I  still  hope  to  reach  the  delta  by  July  1st.  I  go  prepared 
to  search  the  delta,  and  from  the  Olenek  to  the  Yana,  should 
it  seem  advisable." 


398  THE   HOMEWARD   JOURNEY. 

While  on  his  way  down  the  Lena  in  his  schooner,  Harber, 
without  knowing  it  at  the  time,  passed,  in  the  night,  tho 
steamer  Constantine,  aboard  of  which  were  Melville,  Nin- 
dermann,  Noros,  Berry,  and  Jackson,  who  had  started  for 
home.  Ensign  Hunt  and  Mr.  Bartlett  remained  at  Yakutsk, 
both  of  them  having  volunteered  to  assist  Harber.  The 
northern  search  party  started  from  Yakutsk  for  the  Delta 
near  the  close  of  June. 

The  homeward  journey  of  the  returning  explorers  was, 
says  Melville,  one  fair  voyage  filled  with  friendly  God 
speeds  from  all  quarters.  At  St.  Petersburg  they  were 
received  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  On  arriving  at  Berlin, 
Niiidermaun  took  time  to  visit  his  birthplace,  on  the  Isle  of 
Rugen,  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  off  the  northern  coast  of  Prussia. 
He  was  met  outside  his  native  village  by  a  bevy  of  rustic 
maidens  with  flowers  and  wreaths,  and  had  a  joyful  recep- 
tion. The  whole  place  was  in  holiday  attire  during  his  two 
days'  stay. 

The  Cunard  steamer  Parthia,  from  Liverpool,  brought  the 
party  over  the  last  section  of  their  long  journey ;  and  they 
arrived  at  New  York,  Melville's  native  city,  September  13th, 
just  one  year  from  the  day  when  the  three  boats  carrying 
the  Jeannette  castaways  were  separated  off  the  Siberian 
coast.  When  they  left  the  steamer's  deck,  it  was  to  meet 
"the  warmest,  the  simplest,  the  grandest  reception  ever  wit- 
nessed in  New  York  Bay."  They  were  taken  to  the  city  on 
the  steam  yacht,  Ocean  Gem,  and  disembarked  amid  a 
great  display  of  enthusiasm  from  the  assembled  multitude. 
Melville  was  welcomed  to  the  city  by  Lieutenant  Jacques, 
in  behalf  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  the  Commander 
of  the  Port.  Subsequently  he  received  distinguished  honors 
from  the  officials  and  citizens  of  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  other  places,  in  all  of  which  Nindermann  and  Noros 
shared. 


CHAPTEE  XXXIIL 

BERRY'S  SEARCH  EXPEDITION— CONTINUED. 
(BURNING  OF  THE  RODGERS — AN  ICE-FLOE  TRAGEDY.) 

AFTER  cruising  in  the  Arctic  waters  in  search  of  the 
Jeannette  during  the  summer  of  1881,  the  United 
States  steamer  Rodger s  arrived  at  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  on  the 
northeastern  coast  of  Siberia,  as  stated  in  Chapter  IV. 
Preparations  for  spending  the  winfer  in  this  harbor  were 
immediately  begun,  but,  owing  to  continued  bad  weather, 
Lieutenant  Berry  was  prevented  from  building  a  small  house 
on  shore  and  transferring  thither  a  large  part  of  his  pro- 
visions and  supplies  as  lie  intended  to  have  done. 

On  the  20th  of  November,  Ensign  Hunt  started  up  the 
coast  with  a  team  of  nine  dogs  intending  to  visit  Camp  Hunt, 
as  Master  Putnam's  winter-quarters  on  Eteelan  Island  was 
named.  This  island  is  located  about  twenty  miles  west  of 
Cape  Serdze,  near  the  native  village  of  Tiapka,  a  little  east 
of  Nordenskiold's  winter  quarters,  and  about  150  miles  from 
St.  Lawrence  Bay.  After  going  some  distance  Mr.  Hunt 
was  compelled  to  turn  back,  owing  to  severe  storms,  and  he 
went  on  board  the  ship  November  29th,  leaving  his  dogs  on 
shore.  These  dogs  were  the  only  ones  of  the  expedition  which 
survived  the  disaster  which  soon  overtook  the  crew.  Up  to 
this  time  everything  had  gone  well,  and  all  the  men  were  in 
good  health  and  spirits. 

At  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  November  30th 
the  startling  cry  of  "  Fire ! "  was  heard,  and  smoke  was 
seen  issuing  from  the  fore-hold,  apparently  from  under  the 
donkey  boiler  room.  The  crew  were  immediately  called  to 
quarters,  and  the  hatches  were  closed  to  prevent  the  air 
*4  (401) 


402  THE  JEANNETTB  ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

from  reaching  the  flames.  Fires  were  burning  under  the 
donkey  boiler  to  heat  the  ship,  and  the  steam  pump  was 
quickly  connected  thereto.  The  deck  force-pump  was  also 
immediately  utilized.  Two  streams  of  water  were  soon 
playing,  but  owing  to  the  dense  smoke  it  was  for  some  time 
impossible  to  get  them  directed  on  the  fire.  The  main 
engine  was  also  quickly  put  in  working  order ;  and  when,  as 
the  fire  spread,  it  became  necessary  to  abandon  the  donkey 
boiler,  the  pumps  were  connected  with  and  worked  from  the 
main  boiler  without  any  break  in  the  flow  of  water. 

The  fire  was  in  the  lower  hold,  and  the  place  was  so  closely 
filled  with  stores  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  get  any 
water  on  it ;  and  the  dense  smoke  prevented  the  men  from 
going  into  the  hold.  So  much  smoke  escaped  that  the  hose- 
men  had  to  be  frequently  relieved,  and  the  fireman  at  the 
donkey  boiler  had  to  quit  his  post. 

As  the  vessel  was  lying  head  to  the  wind  with  a  fresh 
breeze,  hawsers  were  made  fast  to  the  chains,  the  chains 
were  shipped,  and  the  ship  was  brought  round  stern  to  the 
wind  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  fire  from  spreading  aft. 
The  steam  pipe  running  from  the  main  boiler  to  the  main 
windlass  was  broken,  two  sections  of  hose  were  fitted  to  the 
pipe,  and  steam  was  forced  into  the  hold.  This  seemed  to 
stay  the  fire,  but  it  was  only  for  a  moment ;  the  hose  was 
melted  by  the  intense  heat,  and  smoke  began  to  rush  into  the 
fire  room  and  coal  bunkers.  The  officers  and  crew  worked 
bravely  and  unremittingly,  but  the  fire  continued  to  increase, 
and  in  the  afternoon  it  became  apparent  that  all  efforts  to 
save  the  ship  would  be  unavailing. 

About  four  P.  M.  Lieutenant  Berry  gave  orders  to  make 
Bail  and  run  the  ship  on  to  the  beach,  where  he  hoped  by 
scuttling  her  to  save  a  supply  of  provisions.  The  chains 
were  buoyed  by  the  upper  topsail  yards,  and  the  hawsers 
were  cut.  Lower  topsails,  foresail,  jib,  and  spanker  were  set, 
and  the  ship  was  headed  for  the  beach ;  but  the  wind  failed, 
the  ship  was  drifted  by  the  ice  and  tide,  and  ran  aground  before 
reaching  the  desired  position.  A  hawser  was  made  fast  to  a 


BURNING  OP  THE  SHIP.  403 

kedge  anchor  and  this  was  thrown  overboard.  The  valves 
of  the  outward  delivery  were  then  opened  to  flood  and  sink 
the  ship,  and  from  six  to  eight  feet  of  water  rushed  into  the 
fore  room;  but  as  the  ship  was  aground  by  the  stern  the 
water  did  not  reach  the  fire.  The  ship  at  this  time  lay  about 
500  feet  from  the  shore,  surrounded  by  slush  ice  twenty 
inches  thick ;  this  ice  was  too  soft  to  allow  a  man  to  walk 
upon  it,  and  yet  too  thick  and  heavy  to  row  boats  through. 

Meantime  attention  had  been  turned  to  the  saving  of 
stores.  Some  of  the  men  had  been  taken  from  the  force- 
pump,  and  had  been  working  hard  in  attempting  to  get  up 
,  provisions  and  clothing,  but  with  little  success  owing  to  the 
smoke  and  a  collection  of  carbonic  acid  gas  below  decks. 
Holes  were  cut  through  the  deck,  and  some  powder  from  the 
magazine  and  oil  from  the  sail-room  were  passed  aft  to  the 
quarter  deck.  All  hands  worked  with  almost  superhuman 
strength. 

At  nine  P.  M.  a  boat  was  launched,  but  the  ice  was  so 
heavy  that  it  could  riot  be  forced  thirty  feet  from  the  ship. 
A  native  skin  boat  was  next  tried,  and  two  men  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  beach  carrying  the  end  of  a  line.  A  larger 
rope  was  then  hauled  ashore  and  made  fast  to  a  piece  of 
driftwood. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  flames  had  spread  so  far  aft  that  it  was 
resolved  to  abandon  the  ship.  The  boats  were  accordingly 
loaded  with  such  articles  as  had  been  secured,  and  the  crews 
got  into  them  and  began  warping  them  to  land.  This  proved 
to  be  very  hard  work,  as  the  ice  was  rapidly  thickening. 
The  sailors  had  to  get  on  the  gunwales  and  rock  the  boats 
from  side  to  side,  which  loosened  the  ice  and  enabled  them 
to  work  along  a  few  inches  at  a  time.  ,At  last  it  became 
impossible  to  move  the  two  rear  boats,  and  their  crews,  after 
fastening  them  to  the  warping  line  and  cutting  the  line 
adrift  from  the  ship,  were  transferred  to  the  other  boats. 
The  two  rear  boats  were  hauled  ashore  by  the  men  after 
they  landed. 

The  Rodgers  was  abandoned  at  a  quarter  to  twelve  o'clock 


404  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

on  the  night  of  November  30th,  and  when  the  boats  reached 
land  it  was  two  o'clock  A.  M.  of  December  1st.  It  had  taken 
two  hours  and  a  quarter  to  get  them  from  the  ship  to  the 
land. 

By  this  time  the  fire  had  enveloped  the  whole  ship,  and 
Lieutenant  Berry  and  his  companions  stood  on  shore  and 
watched  their  good  ship  burn.  "  It  was  a  calm,  still  night — 
such  a  night  as  is  seen  during  an  Arctic  winter  only — the 
stars  glistening  and  the  moon  shining  brightly  on  the  frozen 
waters  and  the  snow-clad  hills,  and  the  flames  from  the 
doomed  ship  giving  a  crimson  tint  to  the  atmosphere." 
Suddenly,  greatly  to  their  surprise  and  sorrow,  the  ship 
began  to  move  from  her  position  and  to  drift  away  with  the 
tide  and  ice.  The  ship  had  failed  to  fill  with  water  enough 
to  sink,  and  the  burning  of  the  hawser  released  her  from  the 
anchor. 

With  her  rigging  and  sails  on  fire  the  burning  ship  pre- 
sented a  grand  sight  as  she  drifted  up  the  bay.  The  national 
pennant  was  observed  floating  proudly  from  the  main  truck, 
above  the  flames.  Subsequently  the  magazine  exploded; 
and  the  ship  was  last  seen  on  the  morning  of  December  2d, 
still  burning.  The  origin  of  the  fire  could  not  be  determined, 
but  it  was  most  probably  caused  by  the  heat  from  the  donkey 
boiler  charring  and  firing  the  deck  underneath. 

The  situation  and  prospects  of  the  party  at  this  time  were 
anything  but  pleasant.  They  were  turned  adrift  in  a  desolate 
country  at  the  beginning  of  winter  with  but  little  food  and 
clothing,  and  with  no  possibility  of  being  rescued  for  many 
months.  They  had  thus  far  had  but  little  intercourse  with 
the  natives  of  the  coast,  but  it  was  evident  that  upon  them, 
to  a  great  extent,  they  would  have  to  depend  for  shelter  and 
food  during  the  long  winter  before  them. 

No  one  had  thought  of  eating  while  fighting  the  fire,  and 
when  they  landed  all  were  too  fatigued  to  prepare  a  meal  or 
even  a  shelter.  They  tried  to  get  some  rest  and  sleep, 
wrapped  in  their  blankets,  but  were  so  cold  that  occasionally 


HOSPITABLE  NATIVES.  405 

some  were  obliged  to  get  up  and  run  to  keep  up  the  circula- 
tion. 

In  the  morning  boats  were  launched  (the  ice  having 
drifted  away  from  the  shore)  and  headed  for  Noonamoo,  the 
native  village  at  North  Head,  but  the  ice  again  closed  in  and 
the  crews  had  to  turn  back.  The  boats  were  hauled  upon 
the  beach  and  a  camp  was  formed  of  overturned  boats,  sails 
and  tents,  and  all  found  shelter  from  a  violent  snow-storm 
which  had  set  in.  Half  a  pound  of  pemmican  and  some 
bread  were  served  out  to  each  man  for  the  day's  rations. 

Next  morning,  December  2d,  a  party  of  natives  (two  of 
whom  were  visiting  the  ship  when  the  fire  broke  out)  ar- 
rived at  the  camp  with  sledges  drawn  by  dogs,  and  invited 
the  shipwrecked  people  to  their  village.  The  invitation  was 
gratefully  accepted,  and,  after  the  storm  had  abated,  all  the 
party  (excepting  a  detachment  left  behind  to  take  care  of  the 
boats  and  other  property)  started  for  Noonamoo,  about  seven 
miles  distant,  escorted  by  the  natives,  whose  sledges  had 
been  loaded  with  provisions.  They  arrived  at  Noonamoo  af- 
ter a  most  fatiguing  tramp  over  hills  and  through  snow  from 
two  to  four  feet  deep,  and  were  distributed  among  the  eleven 
huts  or  habitations  which  constituted  the  settlement.  Here 
they  were  speedily  introduced  to  walrus  and  blubber  as  an 
article  of  food,  and  settled  down  to  a  long  winter's  siege, 
adapting  themselves  to  the  customs  and  requirements  of 
savage  life  among  the  Chukches. 

A  few  days  later  a  party  was  sent  to  the  camp  on  the 
beach,  and,  as  the  ice  had  drifted  away  from  the  shore,  the 
boats  were  launched,  loaded  with  the  remaining  stores,  and 
taken  around  to  the  village,  where  they  were  hauled  up  for 
the  winter.  A  barter  trade  with  the  natives  was  now  com- 
menced, and  soon  all  the  men  were  comfortably  clad.  Every- 
one was  compelled  to  live  on  native  food,  the  provisions 
saved  from  the  ship  being  kept  as  a  reserve. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  supply  of  walrus  meat  in 
the  village  was  insufficient  for  so  large  a  population,  and  as 
people  from  other  villages  had  invited  some  of  the  men  to 


406  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

come  and  live  with  them,  a  new  distribution  was  decided 
on.  The  officers  and  crew  were  divided  into  four  parties, 
one  of  which  remained  at  Noonainoo,  while  the  others  were 
conducted  by  the  natives  to  tjiree  other  villages  along  the 
coast,  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles.  William  Grace,  a 
member  of  one  of  the  parties  who  migrated  to  another  vil- 
lage, describes  his  reception,  and  some  of  his  subsequent 
experiences,  as  follows  : — 

"  After  much  difficulty  in  getting  over  the  snow,  we  ar- 
rived at  Ak-kun-neer  at  night,  December  10th,  cold,  hungry, 
and  exhausted.  On  stopping  at  the  entrance  of  the  hut,  our 
conductor  would  not  allow  us  to  go  in,  but  shouted  in  a  loud 
voice, '  Atkeen '  (no  good).  He  then  said  to  some  one  inside 
the  hut, '  Wild  wiki  pennena'  (give  me  a  lighted  stick),  and 
a  woman  came  out  with  a  lighted  stick  in  her  hand.  The 
man  seized  it  and  shook  it  in  our  faces,  over  our  clothes  and 
the  sledge,  and  then  exclaimed  'Namaikee'  (good).  We 
were  then  permitted  to  enter,  and  were  stripped  of  all  our 
clothing  in  the  outer  compartment  of  the  hut.  On  coming 
into  the  interior,  we  were  given  some  frozen  walrus  meat,  a 
few  roots,  somewhat  resembling  parsnips,  and  also  a  small 
piece  of  frozen,  rotten  seal  flesh. 

"After  eating,  I  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  natives, 
who  came  into  the  hut  to  see  the  white  man.  They  exam- 
ined my  body,  feet,  and  hands,  and  also  every  portion  of  my 
clothing,  which  was  hanging  up.  The  woman  of  the  hut  put 
an  amulet  made  of  seal-gut,  with  a  large  bead  at  the  end, 
around  my  wrist.  When  I  made  signs  as  to  its  meaning, 
they  replied,  '  Namalkee '  (no  die).  I  slept  on  the  ground 
that  night,  with  a  deerskin  under  me  and  over  me.  The 
vermin  which  covered  my  body  and  covering  prevented  my 
sleeping  all  night." 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  Lieutenant  Berry,  leaving  Master 
Waring  in  command,  started  with  the  only  remaining  team 
of  dogs  to  visit  Putnam's  camp.  At  this  time  the  upper 
limb  of  the  sun  was  seen  above  the  horizon  for  only  two 


A   START   FOR   CAMP   HUNT.  407 

hours  at  a  time,  and  then  sank  into  the  sea,  and  twenty-two 
hours  of  darkness  followed. 

In  due  time,  through  native  sources,  the  news  of  the  burn- 
ing of  the  Rodgers  had  reached  Camp  Hunt,  and  Mr.  Putnam 
at  once  resolved  to  carry  supplies  to  his  distressed  shipmates. 
He  hired  three  natives  (one  of  whom  was  named  Ehr  Ehren) 
to  accompany  him,  and  started  south  with  four  loaded 
sledges.  At  Inchnan  (25  miles  from  East  Cape)  he  met 
Lieutenant  Berry,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Putnam's  camp, 
and  received  instructions  to  continue  his  trip,  and  to  bring 
Ensign  Hunt  and  Engineer  Zane  back  with  him. 

On  the  4th  of  January  Mr.  Putnam  and  his  party  reached 
the  village  at  North  Head,  delivered  his  provisions,  and  re- 
mained several  days  for  his  dogs  to  recuperate.  Among  the 
most  acceptable  articles  which  he  brought  to  his  comrades, 
was  a  quantity  of  books  and  magazines. 

Master  Putnam  started  to  return  to  Camp  Hunt,  January 
10th,  accompanied  by  Hunt,  Zane,  Castillo,  and  the  three 
natives.  Mr.  Putnam  drove  his  own  team  of  nine  dogs,  and 
Mr.  Hunt  rode  on  the  sled  beside  him.  Dr.  Castillo  rode 
with  Ehr  Ehren,  Mr.  Zane  rode  with  a  native  named  Nor- 
tuna,  and  the  third  native  rode  alone.  They  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  when  Putnam's  sled  broke  down,  and,  although  it 
was  repaired,  Hunt  was  obliged  to  ride  with  the  third  native. 
Subsequent  events  are  described  by  the  Herald  correspond- 
ent as  follows : — 

"  Toward  noon  the  sky  became  overcast.  A  wind  sprang 
up  from  the  northward,  and  soon  increased  to  a  terrific  gale, 
filling  the  air  so  thickly  with  snow  that  it  became  impossible 
to  see  the  route,  and  consequently  the  natives  lost  their  way. 
They  kept  on,  however,  making  the  dogs  face  the  gale  until 
six  P.  M.,  when  the  natives  deemed  it  expedient  to  camp 
where  they  were  for  the  night.  The  air  was  so  thick  with 
the  drifting  snow  that  the  lead  dogs  could  not  be  seen  by  the 
drivers.  This  was  a  night  of  severe  suffering  to  the  travel- 
ers, who  sat  on  their  sleds  trying  to  obtain  a  little  sleep,  ex- 


408  THE  JEANNETTB  ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

cepting  when  they  were  compelled  to  move  about  to  get 
warm. 

"In  the  morning  it  moderated  a  little,  and  they  decided 
to  return  to  St.  Lawrence  Bay,  and  wait  until  the  weather 
became  more  suitable  for  traveling.  The  storm  increased 
in  violence  all  the  time,  but  as  the  wind  was  now  behind, 
they  had  no  trouble  and  the  bay  was  reached  in  safety. 
There  being  no  dog  food  at  the  village  at  North  Head,  it  be- 
came necessary  to  go  to  the  south  side.  The  bay  was 
crossed  safely,  and  they  arrived  on  the  southern  shore  about 
one  and  a  half  miles  from  the  village  of  Nutapinwin — their 
destination. 

"  All  the  heavy  gales  during  this  season  of  the  year  were 
from  the  northward  and  westward.  Just  before  getting  to 
the  village,  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  sharp  turn  to  the 
right,  and  go  in  the  teeth  of  the  gale  for  about  two  hundred 
yards.  The  order  in  which  the  sleds  were  proceeding  was 
as  follows: — Castillo  and  Ehr  Ehren,  Putnam,  Zane  and 
Nortuna,  and  Hunt  and  a  native  came  last  and  were  some 
distance  behind. 

"All  proceeded  along  well  until  they  made  the  turn  to 
face  the  gale,  when  Putnam,  not  having  the  ability  to  con- 
trol dogs  so  well  as  the  natives,  (it  is  difficult  to  force  the 
dogs  to  go  to  windward  in  a  severe  storm,)  or  probably  not 
knowing  of  the  abrupt  deviation  from  his  course,  as  he  could 
not  sec  the  other  sleds  turn,  probably  kept  straight  on. 
Zane,  being  familiar  with  the  locality,  recognized  some  land- 
marks when  near  the  village,  but  Putnam  could  not  recog- 
nize the  marks,  as  this  was  his  first  visit  to  the  place. 

uAbout  this  time  Zane  overtook  Putnam,  and  when  their 
sleds  were  abreast  remarked, '  Well,  Put,  it  seems  that  we 
are  all  right  after  all.'  Putnam  answered,  <  I  hope  so.'  They 
were  the  last  words  he  was  ever  heard  to  utter,  and  that  was 
the  last  seen  of  him.  His  sled  fell  a  little  behind.  The  na- 
tives made  the  turn  with  some  difficulty,  but  Putnam  missed 
it,  partly  owing  to  his  being  unable  to  see  them.  It  is 
thought  that  as  the  wind  was  quartering  he  was  sitting  on 


ALARMING   DISCOVERY — PUTNAM   MISSING.  409 

his  sled  back  to  the  wind,  which,  being  very  strong,  grad- 
ually edged  his  sled  out  of  the  track  toward  the  ice,  which  was 
but  a  short  distance  off.  However,  he  got  on  the  ice,  and 
the  supposition  is  that  after  going  some  distance  out  he  be- 
came aware  of  his  mistake,  and,  not  being  able  to  see  which 
way  to  go,  and  his  shouts  not  being  heard  in  such  a  violent 
gale,  he  camped  to  wait  for  fair  weather,  knowing  that  a 
search  would  be  made  for  him  as  soon  as  he  was  missed. 

"  On  reaching  the  village,  in  about  five  minutes  after 
speaking  with  Putnam,  Mr.  Zane  went  immediately  into  a 
house,  as  he  was  almost  frozen.  It  was  soon  discovered  that 
Putnam  was  missing,  and,  thinking  he  had  made  some  mis- 
take, a  native  started  down  to  the  beach  to  look  for  him ; 
and  when  Hunt  came  along  on  his  sled  he  found  Nortuna  yell- 
ing with  all  his  might,  but  thinking  this  noise  was  to  guide 
him,  kept  on  to  the  village.  Here  he  ascertained  that  it  was 
Putnam  he  was  seeking.  Hunt  went  in  and  inquired  of  Zane 
if  Putnam  had  arrived ;  this  was  the  first  intimation  Zane 
had  of  the  unfortunate  occurrence. 

"  Both  then  started  for  the  beach  to  assist  in  the  search ; 
they  were  both  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  for  they  could  ap- 
preciate the  danger  of  being  lost  in  such  a  storm.  They 
offered  every  inducement,  entreated,  and  ordered  the  natives 
to  hitch  up  the  dogs  and  hunt  for  the  unfortunate  man,  but 
they  would  neither  hitch  up  their  dogs  nor  allow  them  to 
use  their  own  dogs,  saying  that  the  gale  was  too  heavy,  they 
could  not  see,  and  that  probably  next  day  would  be  fine,  and 
then  all  would  go  out  and  hunt.  All  threats  proved  un- 
availing, nothing  could  be  done  but  to  wait  for  the  morrow. 
The  gale  was  increasing  in  violence  every  moment.  After 
going  down  to  the  beach  it  was  impossible  to  get  back  to  the 
houses,  the  wind  blew  so  strong  in  the  face.  During  the 
night  the  heavy  wind  detached  the  ice  from  shore,  and 
carried  it  to  sea." 

Next  morning,  at  daylight,  they  again  went  on  the  search. 
Hunt  and  Zane  started  along  the  beach,  and  natives  taking 
Yarious  other  directions  to  look  for  him.  The  wind  had 


410 


THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


gone  down  some,  but  it  was  still  blowing  so  hard  as  to  make 
traveling  very  difficult.  The  morning  was  clear,  however, 
and  a  considerable  distance  could  be  seen.  Hunt  and  Zane 
gazed  on  the  place  which  the  night  before  had  been  one  sheet 
of  ice,  and  saw  that  it  was  now  clear  water  with  no  ice  in 
sight.  They  walked  along  the  beach  about  a  mile  until  they 
came  to  a  bluff  which  they  knew  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible to  pass  on  a  sled,  and  satisfied  themselves  that  he  waa 


GOING  FOR  PUTNAM. 

not  on  the  beach.  It  was  almost  certain  that  he  had  camped 
on  the  ice  and  been  carried  to  sea  with  it.  The  only  chance 
for  his  safety  seemed  to  be  that  the  wind  would  spring  up 
from  the  southward  and  drive  the  ice  in  shore,  or  that  it 
would  become  calm  and  allow  the  new  ice  to  form  between 
the  old  and  the  shore,  so  that  the  unfortunate  man  could 
walk  over  it. 

The  next  day,  13th,  Hunt  and  Zane  with  the  three  natives 


PUTNAM   SEEN   DRIFTING  SOUTH.  411 

started  for  North  Head  to  notify  Mr.  Waring  of  the  sad 
affair.  After  crossing  the  bay  they  met  Waring  and  told 
him  of  the  calamity.  He  told  them  to  proceed  to  Camp  Hunt 
in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  Lieutenant  Berry,  and  set  out 
himself  on  a  search  along  the  coast.  The  same  afternoon  he 
received  a  note  from  Seaman  Cahill,  one  of  the  men  stationed 
at  the  village  at  South  Head,  stating  that  Putnam  had  been 
seen  on  that  morning  on  an  ice  floe  about  three  miles  from 
the  shore.  The  natives  would  not  launch  their  skin  boats 
on  account  of  the  intervening  thin  ice,  although  Mr.  Cahill 
offered  large  rewards  to  induce  them  to  do  so. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  14th,  word  was 
received  that  Putnam  had  been  seen  from  a  village  six  miles 
south  of  South  Head,  on  the  ice  eight  miles  from  shore,  and  that 
the  natives  were  making  preparations  to  rescue  him.  Waring 
pushed  on  to  the  village,  reaching  it  that  night  through  a 
heavy  wind  and  snow-storm  blowing  hard  off  shore.  It  was 
here  ascertained  that  on  the  preceding  day  an  attempt  had 
been  made  by  four  men  of  the  Rodgers  crew,  assisted  by  two 
natives,  to  rescue  Putnam ;  but  after  proceeding  nearly  three 
miles  they  were  forced  to  return,  the  boat  having  been  cut 
through  in  so  many  places  that  they  were  barely  able  to  keep 
her  afloat  until  shore  was  reached. 

Another  severe  off-shore  storm  was  now  raging,  and  the 
unfortunate  man  was  lost  sight  of.  The  natives  were  confi- 
dent that  the  ice  floe  would  be  driven  inside  of  a  point  some 
distance  down  the  coast,  and  preparations  were  immediately 
made  to  go  down  to  the  point  as  soon  as  the  weather  would 
permit.  There  was  trouble  in  procuring  dogs  to  travel, 
because  the  natives  at  both  North  and  South  Head  were 
afraid,  on  account  of  some  previous  difficulty  with  the  natives 
at  Indian  Point,  to  go  down  the  coast  or  to  allow  their  dogs 
to  go,  saying  they  would  be  killed.  At  last,  however,  a 
team  was  scraped  up  from  four  villages,  ranging  over  a  space 
of  thirty  or  forty  miles. 

It  was  the  17th  before  another  start  could  be  made.  The 
day  opened  stormy,  but  soon  moderated,  and  the  search  con- 


412  THE  JEANNETTB  ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 

tinued  with  one  native  and  a  team  of  eight  dogs.  The  coast 
was  skirted  to  the  sixth  settlement,  about  thirty  miles,  but 
no  news  was  heard ;  the  off-shore  wind  had  driven  the  heavj 
ice  to  sea.  The  next  day,  not  being  able  to  get  dogs  to  con- 
tinue the  journey,  Waring  was  compelled  to  return  to  the 
village  next  to  South  Head. 

Natives  were  now  dispatched  along  the  coast,  offering 
great  rewards  for  the  rescue  of  Putnam  or  for  his  body  if  he 
were  dead.  Another  heavy  gale  get  in,  making  traveling 
impossible.  On  the  22d  a  southeast  gale  brought  the  ice  in 
shore  again,  but  it  was  found  that  the  sea  had  crushed  it  up  into 
small  pieces,  no  heavy  floes  being  anywhere  in  sight.  Men 
from  down  the  coast  brought  no  news.  The  case  appeared 
almost  hopeless  now,  as  all  of  the  floes  must  have  broken  up 
during  the  five  days'  gale. 

On  the  26th,  Waring  heard  a  rumor  that  some  dogs  had 
come  on  shore  from  the  ice.  For  two  days  he  was  prevented 
by  storms  from  proceeding;  but  on  the  29th,  though  intensely 
cold,  he  started  down  the  coast  to  identify  the  dogs.  He 
arrived  at  Lauren,  thirty  miles  down  the  coast,  in  the  evening, 
and  found  three  of  Putnam's  dogs  there.  Several  dogs  came 
ashore,  but  the  natives  could  catch  only  three.  They  said 
that  all  came  ashore  without  harness. 

After  being  weather-bound  for  three  days  Waring  started 
down  the  coast,  February  2d,  and  searched  the  whole  coast 
as  far  as  Plover  Bay.  He  communicated  with  several  natives 
who  spoke  good  English,  and  they  were  satisfied  that  Putnam 
had  never  come  near  the  shore. 

At  En g wort  (sixty  miles  from  South  Head)  another  dog, 
with  a  pistol-shot  wound  in  his  neck,  had  come  ashore  ten 
days  previously  and  was  recognized  as  belonging  to  Putnam's 
team.  This  dog — like  all  the  others — was  very  thin  and^ 
emaciated,  covered  with  ice,  and  had  every  appearance  of 
having  been  long  in  the  water.  Putnam  had  probably  shot 
this  dog,  intending  to  use  it  for  food,  but  he  had  succeeded 
in  escaping.  In  all  six  dogs,  out  of  his  team  of  nine,  came 
ashore. 


PUTNAM'S  BAD  PATE. 


413 


Mr.  Waring  got  back  to  his  village  after  searching  for  his 
lost  comrade  for  over  a  month.  At  Plover  Bay  and  Marcus 
Bay  he  left  letters  for  the  officers  of  any  whalers  which  might 
come  there,  informing  them  of  the  condition  of  the  wrecked 
crew,  and  urging  them  to  hasten  to  their  assistance. 

It  is  known  that  Mr.  Putnam  was  alive  on  the  third  day 
after  being  carried  out  to  sea,  but  how  much  longer  he  sur- 
vived can  only  be  conjectured.  All  this  time  the  temperature 
was  from  20  to  40  degrees  below  zero,  and  he  had  no  protec- 
tion from  the  piercing  winds  aside  from  his  very  warm, 
clothing.  He  probably  killed  one  or  more  of  his  dogs  for 
food,  and  so  did  not  die  of  starvation.  The  floe  which  he 
was  on  doubtless  broke  into  fragments  during  one  of  the 
gales,  and  he  was  drowned.  The  circumstances  of  his  death 
were  sad  and  most  lamentable.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
promising  officers  of  the  expedition. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

LIFE  AMONG  THE  CHUKCHEfl. 

fTlHE  natives  of  Northeastern  Siberia  are  called  Chuk- 
-L  ches,  and  their  coast  extends  from  Chaun  Bay  on  the 
Arctic  Ocean,  around  the  Chukches  Peninsula  to  the  Anadyr 
Eiver.  Westward  of  Chaun  Bay  the  coast  as  far  as  the 
Gulf  of  Obi  (about  100  degrees  of  longitude)  is  uninhabited, 
although  Russian  samovies  and  native  encampments  are 
found  on  the  rivers  at  some  distance  from  their  mouths. 

The  Chukches  are  divided  into  two  principal  branches 
speaking  the  same  language,  and  belonging  to  the  same 
race,  but  differing  considerably  in  their  mode  of  life.  One 
division  consists  of  reindeer  nomads,  who  wander  about  with 
their  herds,  and  live  by  raising  reindeer  and  by  trade — carry- 
ing on  a  traffic  between  the  savages  in  the  northernmost 
parts  of  America,  and  the  Russian  fur-dealers  in  Siberia. 

The  other  division  are  the  Coast  Chukches  who  do  not  own 
reindeer,  but  have  dogs,  and  live  in  fixed,  but  easily  movable 
and  frequently  moved  tents  along  the  coast  of  Northeastern 
Siberia.  They  have  also  settled  along  the  shore  of  Bering 
Sea,  and  some  of  an  inferior  race,  nearly  allied  to  the  Esqui- 
maux living  there,  have  adopted  their  language  and  modes 
of  life. 

It  was  among  the  Coast  Chukches  that  the  Rodgers  crew 
found  shelter  and  sustenance  during  their  five  months'  resi- 
dence on  the  treeless  shores  adjoining  St.  Lawrence  Bay. 
During  this  period  they  were  received  as  friends,  and  at 
times  when  food  was  scarce  families  would  go  hungry  that 
their  guests  might  not  Buffer.  The  struggle  to  get  food 
began  as  soon  as  they  were  fairly  settled  down  for  the  win- 

(414) 


HUNTING   FOB   A   LIVING. 


415 


tor.  Everybody  had  to  go  hunting.  Those  who  lived  with 
poor  huntsmen  fared  worse  than  the  others,  and  had  fre- 
quently to  depend  on  themselves  or  go  hungry.  Ensign 
Btoney  was  quartered  with  a  poor  hunter,  and  did  most  of 
the  hunting  for  the  entire  family  ;  but  the  head  of  the  house 
generally  accompanied  him  and  looked  out  for  his  safety 
like  a  faithful  slave.  If  the  ice  was  suspicious  looking,  he 
would  go  ahead  with  a  long  pole. 


CHUKCHE  COUNTRY  HAKES. 

Sometimes  hunting  was  done  several  miles  out  on  the  ice, 
and  then  perhaps  a  large  seal  would  have  to  be  dragged  home 
through  snow  two  or  three  feet  deep.  Ducks  and  rabbits 
were  frequently  captured.  Deer  were  scarce  and  seen  only 
a  long  distance  inland.  When  hunting  had  to  be  suspended 
during  a  long  spell  of  bad  weather,  there  would  be  almost  a 
famine  in  the  villages.  Small  quantities  of  the  ship's  provi- 
sion were  dealt  out  once  a  month. 

The  Chukches  are  a  hardy  race,  but  exceedingly  indolent 
when  want  of  food  does  not  force  them  to  exertion.  There 


416 


THE  JENNEATTE  ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


were  but  few  natives  in  the  settlement  who  did  not  own  a 
rifle,  obtained  from  whalers.     The  men,  during  their  hunt- 


CHUKCHE  WOMAN  ANGLING. 


ing  excursions,  pass  whole  days  in  a  cold  of  30  to  40  degrees 
below  zero,  out  upon  the  ice,  without  protection  and  without 
carrying  with  them  food  or  fuel.  Women  nearly  naked 


CHDKCHE  FISHERWOMEN.  417 

often,  during  severe  cold,  leave  for  awhile  the  inner  tent 
where  the  train-oil  lamp  maintains  a  heat  that  is  at  times 
oppressive.  Both  men  and  women  wear  snow-shoes  during 
the  winter,  and  will  not  willingly  undertake  any  long  walks 
in  loose  snow  without  them.  The  children  nearly  always 
make  a  pleasing  impression,  by  their  healthy  appearance  and 
their  friendly  and  becoming  behavior. 

In  early  winter,  before  the  ice  is  too  thick,  the  women  fish 
along  the  shore.  Each  lisherwoman  is  accompanied  by  a 
man,  who  cuts  a  hole  in  the  ice  with  an  iron-shod  spear,  and 
skims  out  the  loose  ice  with  an  ice-sieve.  Stooping  down  at 
the  hole,  she  endeavors  to  attract  the  fish  by  means  of  a 
peculiarly  wonderful  clattering  cry,  and  when  a  fish  is  seen 
in  the  water,  a  line  witli  a  baited  hook  of  bone,  iron,  or  cop- 
per, is  thrown  down.  One  of  these  fisherwomen  might  pos- 
sibly have  saved  the  lives  of  DeLong's  party,  had  she  been 
with  them. 

During  the  winter  Mr.  Stoney  visited  some  Reindeer  Chuk- 
ches  seventy  miles  inland,  and  saw  several  herds  of  rein- 
deer, but  did  not  get  any  as  he  could  not  pay  for  them. 
Lieutenant  Palander,  of  the  Vega,  gives  the  following  ac- 
count of  a  visit  to  Reindeer  Chukches  made  by  him  in  1879 : — 

"The  camp  consisted  of  two  tents,  one  of  which  was  un- 
occupied. The  other  was  occupied  by  a  Chukche  and  his 
wife,  and  another  young  couple  who  were  visiting  there. 
About  fifty  reindeer  were  pasturing  on  an  eminence  some 
distance  off,  but  proposals  to  purchase  some  were  declined, 
although  bread,  tobacco,  rum,  and  even  guns  were  offered 
in  exchange. 

"  In  the  afternoon  we  were  invited  into  the  tent,  where  we 
passed  an  hour  in  their  sleeping  chamber.  On  our  entrance 
the  seal-oil  lamp  was  lighted.  Our  hostess  endeavored  to 
make  our  stay  in  the  tent  as  agreeable  as  possible ;  she 
rolled  together  reindeer  skins  for  pillows,  and  made  ready 
for  us  a  place  where,  stretched  at  full  length,  we  might  en- 
joy much  needed  repose.  In  the  outer  tent  the  other  women 
25 


418 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 


prepared  supper,  which  consisted  of  boiled  seal's  flesh. 
After  the  meal  was  partaken  of,  our  host  divested  himself 
of  all  his  clothing,  the  trousers  excepted.  Our  hostess  let 
her  pesk  fall  down  from  the  shoulders,  so  that  the  whole 
upper  part  of  her  body  became  bare,  and  as  they  appeared  to 
be  sleepy,  we  retired  to  the  other  tent,  where  it  was  any- 
thing but  warm. 


THE  STAROST  OP  THE  REINDEER  CHURCHES. 

"  Next  morning  when  we  came  out  of  the  tent,  we  saw  all 
the  reindeer  advancing  in  a  compact  troop.  At  the  head 
was  an  old  reindeer  with  large  horns,  that  went  forward  to 
his  master,  who  had  in  the  meantime  gone  to  meet  the  herd, 
and  bade  him  good-morning  by  gently  rubbing  his  nose 
against  his  master's  hands.  While  this  was  going  on  the 
other  reindeer  stood  drawn  up  in  well-ordered  ranks,  like  the 
crew  in  divisions  on  board  a  man-of-war.  The  owner  then 
went  forward  and  saluted  every  reindeer ;  they  were  allowed 
to  stroke  his  hands  with  their  noses.  He  on  his  part  took 
every  reindeer  by  the  horn  and  examined  it  in  the  most 


WASSILJ    MENKA. 


410 


careful  way.  After  the  inspection  was  ended,  at  a  sign 
given  by  the  master  the  whole  herd  wheeled  round  and  re- 
turned in  closed  ranks,  with  the  old  reindeer  in  front,  to 
their  pasture." 

1  According  to  Nordenskiold  there  is  not  among  the  Coast 
Chukches  any  recognized  chiefs  nor  any  trace  of  social  organ- 
ization. Among  the  Reindeer  Chukches  living  in  the  interior 
there  appears  to  be  a  sort  of  chieftainship,  and  there  are  men 
who  can  show  commissions  from  the  Russian  authorities. 
Such  a  person  was  Wassili  Menka,  the  starost  of  the  Reindeer 
Chukches,  "  a  little  dark  man  with  a  pretty  worn  appear- 
ance, clad  in  a  white  variegated  '  pesk '  of  white  reindeer 
skin,  under  which  a  blue  flannel  shirt  was  visible."  He 
carried  to  Yakutsk  a  letter  from  Nordenskiold,  and  the 
King  of  Sweden  rewarded  him  with  a  gold  medal. 


CHUKCHE  TENT  FKAME. 

The  Chukches  do  not  dwell  in  snow  huts  nor  in  wooden 
houses,  because  lumber  is  not  found  on  the  coast,  and 
wooden  houses  are  unsuitable  for  the  reindeer  nomad.  They 
live  summer  and  winter  in  tents  of  a  peculiar  construction 
not  used  by  any  other  race.  In  shape  they  are  oval,  with 
conical  tops,  and  resemble  inverted  basins.  To  make  the 


420 


THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 


tent  warm  it  is  double,  the  outer  envelope  enclosing  an  inner 
tent  or  sleeping  chamber. 

The  outer  tent  consists  of  walrus  skins  sewed  together 
and  stretched  over  wooden  ribs,  which  are  carefully  bound 
together  by  thongs  of  skin.  The  ribs  rest  on  posts  driven 
into  the  ground,  or  on  tripods  of  drift-wood,  which  arc 
steadied  by  seal  skin  sacks  filled  with  sand  or  stones  sus- 
pended from  the  middle  of  them.  The  frame  and  covering 
are  anchored  to  the  ground  by  means  of  twisted  walrus 
hide  rope  fastened  to  stones  which  serve  as  tent  pins,  and 
sometimes  a  heavy  stone  is  suspended  from  the  top  of  the 
tent  roof.  The  ribs  are  also  supported  by  cross  stays.  Snow 
or  earth  is  banked  up  around  the  outside  of  the  tent. 


THE  CHUKCHE  DWELLING. 

The  inner  tent  is  used  as  a  sleeping  chamber,  where  all 
the  family  and  their  visitors  pass  the  night.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  reindeer  skins,  and  is  sometimes  further  covered 
with  a  layer  of  grass.  The  floor  consists  of  a  walrus  skin, 
stretched  over  a  foundation  of  twigs  and  straw.  At  night 
the  floor  is  covered  with  a  carpet  of  seal  skins  which  is  taken 
away  during  the  day.  At  night  lamps  of  seal  oil  with  wicks 
of  dried  moss  are  kept  constantly  burning,  and  keep  the 
place  uncomfortably  warm  for  civilized  people.  The  space 


CHUKCHB  MEDICINE-MEN.  421 

between  the  tents  is  partitioned  off  by  curtains.  The  en- 
trance is  a  hole,  with  a  skin  hung  before  it  for  a  door. 

Inside  the  dwelling  are  stored  all  the  effects  of  the  one  or 
more  families  who  occupy  it.  Dogs  are  admitted  to  the 
outer  space,  and  puppies  are  often  received  inside.  Food  is 
cooked  in  a  pot  suspended  over  a  fire,  and  the  smoke,  or 
part  of  it,  escapes  through  a  hole  in  the  roof. 

The  Coast  Chukches  are  not  only  heathens,  but  appear 
also  to  have  no  conception  of  a  Supreme  Being.  They  are, 
however,  superstitious,  and  have  medicine-men,  teemed 
"  ianglans,"  who  exert  much  influence  over  them.  Some  of 
the  exploits  of  these  medicine-men  are  described  by  Messrs. 
Grace  and  Bruch,  of  the  Rodgers  crew,  as  follows :  — 


INTERIOR  OF  CHUKCHE  TENT. 

"A  hunting  party  previous  to  setting  out  from  the 
village  sends  for  the  ianglan.  He  brings  with  him  a  drum 
made  of  seal-gut,  stretched  on  wood  or  bone  hoops  for  heads, 
the  body  or  sides  being  thick  walrus  hide.  Upon  entering 
the  interior  of  the  hut  all  lights  are  extinguished,  and  si- 
lence reigns  for  a  brief  space.  Suddenly  the  stillness  is 
broken  by  the  ianglan  breaking  into  a  low,  monotonous 
wail,  which  gradually  rises  into  a  loud,  prolonged  screech, 
the  drum  being  beaten  all  the  time,  until  the  cunning  knave, 
completely  exhausted,  falls  to  the  ground,  and  pretends  to 
go  into  a  kind  of  trance.  During  such  condition  he  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  close  communion  with  the  spirits.  Recover- 


422  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

ing  from  his  pretended  stupor,  he  tells  his  audience  the 
spirits  say  that  the  hunters  will  kill  seal,  or  walrus,  or  catch 
fish,  as  the  weather  prognostications,  which  these  knaves 
study  well,  are  almost  a  sure  guide  to  the  results  of  the 
hunt. 

"  On  the  12th  of  March  natives  returned  from  East  Cape 
and  reported  open  water  in  that  direction,  and  the  ice  going 
north.  Two  natives  had  been  out  sledging  catching  seals, 
and  got  carried  out  on  the  ice  to  sea,  and  had  not  been  heard 
of.  There  was  great  excitement  at  At-kun-kcer,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  natives  who  had  been  lost  on  the  ice  be- 
longed to  families  there.  The  natives  assembled  in  one  of  the 
huts  and  commenced  the  ceremonies  of  mourning  by  sending 
for  the  medicine-man  who  lived  at  Yandangic.  He  soon  ar- 
rived, and  opened  the  services  by  swallowing  a  large  portion 
of  raw  walrus  meat.  He  then  began  beating  his  tom-tom 
with  a  stick,  and  kept  up  a  noise  for  six  or  seven  hours 
resembling  the  bellowing  of  a  calf.  One  of  the  men  lost 
had  a  wife.  She  was  sent  for,  and  sat  down  on  the  floor  of  the 
hut.  The  medicine-man  tied  a  seal  rope  around  her  head, 
and  tied  a  large  club  to  the  end  of  it.  He  made  her  lay 
down  on  the  floor,  and  proceeded  to  lift  her  up  and  down  for 
nearly  half  an  hour,  exclaiming  at  the  same  time, '  Hi  yang,' 
4  Hi  yang  ; '  i  Men  namalkee  '  (no  die,  by  and  by  come  back). 
These  ceremonies  were  repeated  the  following  day  and 
night. 

"  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  14th,  sledges  coming  from 
Yandangie  were  seen.  Upon  arrival  their  occupants  proved 
to  be  the  natives  who  had  been  carried  away  on  the  ice.  The 
medicine-man  then  got  a  drum  made  of  sealskin,  with  tails 
attached,  beating  it  with  his  hands  and  making  noises  like 
a  crow.  Some  dried  grass  was  burnt,  and  the  ashes  shaken 
over  the  men,  and  they  were  allowed  to  enter  their  huts. 
They  had  killed  a  seal  for  subsistence  during  their  stay  on 
the  ice." 

Mr.  Grace  was  at  the  village  of  Yandangie  one  night,  and 
lodged  in  a  hut  where  a  young  girl  was  sick.  "  I  noticed," 


DEATH    OP   A    CHUKCHE   GIRL.  423 

he  says,  "  about  nine  P.M.  that  she  was  very  sick,  and  that 
her  breathing  was  very  difficult.  I  looked  at  her,  and  told 
her  people,  '  Makee'  (go  die).  As  I  said  this  two  or  three  of 
them  rushed  over  towards  her  with  knives,  and  cut  off  some 
of  her  hair,  her  beads,  and  amulets  (made  of  seal-gut  with 
beads  intertwined),  at  the  same  time  calling  her  name  and 
shaking  her  by  the  arms.  But  the  poor  girl  was  past  hear- 
ing, and  soon  expired.  They  gathered  her  clothing,  beads, 
bags  containing  needles  and  deer  sinews,  and  placed  the 
whole  upon  her  breast.  Then  her  boots  were  drawn  on,  and 
the  ianglan  and  the  neighbors  were  sent  for. 

"As  soon  as  the  whole  of  the  invited  guests  had  arrived, 
the  ianglan  tied  the  end  of  a  long  coil  of  sealskin  rope 
around  the  head  of  the  girl ;  the  other  end  he  fastened  to  a 
stick  resembling  a  crutch  in  form.  The  father  of  the  girl 
then  commenced  asking  questions,  and  at  each  query  the 
rope  was  lifted  up,  causing  the  girl's  head  to  be  raised  from 
off  the  ground.  This  performance  lasted  three  hours,  dur- 
ing which  time  there  was  not  a  sound  heard  in  the  hut.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  period,  food  was  partaken  of  by  all 
present,  after  which  the  ianglan,  producing  some  seal-gut 
rope,  proceeded  to  lash  the  corpse,  tying  the  arms  close  to 
the  body,  and  the  legs  with  the  feet  pointing  outward.  A 
sledge  was  then  prepared  on  the  outside,  and  the  girl's  father 
taking  a  knife,  cut  a  slit  in  the  side  of  the  hut,  as  a  passage- 
way for  the  removal  of  the  corpse.  The  dead  are  not  allowed 
to  be  carried  through  the  ordinary  entrance,  as  the  natives 
say,  '  Should  that  happen,  the  spirit  will  find  its  way  home 
again.'  The  body  being  placed  on  the  sledge,  the  relatives 
proceeded  to  pull  it,  and  another  sledge  with  provisions, 
toward  a  high  range  of  hills  distant  some  fifty  miles  inland." 

Subsequently  the  body  was  visited  to  see  if  some  walrus 
meat  left  with  it  had  been  eaten  by  crows — which  is  con- 
sidered a  favorable  omen.  At  a  second  visit,  the  body  was 
covered  with  snow. 

Lieutenant  Berry,  after  leaving  St.  Lawrence  Bay  as 
previously  stated,  proceeded  to  Camp  Hunt,  and  on  arriving 


424  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

there  he  directed  Mr.  Gilder  to  travel  overland  to  Irkutsk 
and  send  home  by  telegraph  the  news  of  the  loss  of  the 
Rodgers  and  the  condition  of  her  crew.  Mr.  Gilder  started 
on  his  long  journey  January  7th ;  some  account  thereof  will 
be  given  hereafter. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  Lieutenant  Berry  and  Ensign 
Hunt,  with  a  team  of  thirteen  dogs  and  accompanied  by 
Ehr  Ehren,  who  had  a  team  of  his  own,  started  from  Camp 
Hunt  to  make  a  journey  westward  along  the  coast  in  search 
of  the  Jeannette  crew.  On  arriving  at  Nschni  Kolymsk, 
March  25th,  Berry  heard  of  the  loss  of  the  Jeannette  and 
sent  back  to  Camp  Hunt  particulars  thereof  by  Ehr  Ehren. 
He  also  announced  his  intention  of  joining  the  searchers  on 
the  Lena,  and  directed  Waring  to  return  home  by  the 
first  vessel.  His  meeting  with  Melville  has  been  already 
described. 

After  the  departure  of  his  superiors  Engineer  Zane  took 
charge  of  Camp  Hunt.  There  was  plenty  of  provisions  and 
books,  and  also  of  Chukche  visitors,  but  the  long  winter  was 
a  monotonous  one  for  white  men.  The  natives  were  friendly 
and  had  free  access  to  the  house,  but  they  staid  so  long  that 
it  became  advisable  to  send  all  of  them  away  excepting 
some  of  the  older  ones  at  4  p.  M.,  which  was  the  supper  hour. 
Midnight  was  generally  the  time  for  turning  in,  and  break- 
fast was  eaten  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Towards  spring  Dr.  Jones  and  Pctersen,  with  natives  and 
two  dog-teams  carrying  provisions,  started  for  St.  Lawrence 
Bay.  Zanc  and  Melms  remained  to  take  charge  of  tho 
house,  and  during  the  absence  of  their  companions  they 
had  quite  an  exciting  adventure. 

One  day  three  strangers  came  to  (he  house,  and  were  well 
treated  and  given  presents.  Towards  night  all  the  natives 
excepting  the  strangers  and  two  others  were  sent  away; 
they  were  allowed  to  stay,  and  something  to  eat  was  given 
them  after  supper.  While  Melms  was  washing  the  dishes, 
Zane  sat  with  his  elbows  on  the  table  reading  a  book.  Tho 
five  natives  were  standing  around,  but  as  it  was  supposed 


DARING   BURGLARS.  425 

that  they  were  getting  ready  to  go  no  attention  was  paid  to 
them.  Suddenly  three  of  them  seized  Zane's  arms  and  held 
them  firmly  on  the  table,  and  the  other  two  secured  Melms, 
so  that  he  could  offer  no  resistance. 

One  of  the  men,  named  Rochilon,  who  could  speak  English, 
then  said  that  they  wanted  rum,  and  intended  to  have  it, 
but  did  not  want  to  take  anything  else  or  to  kill  any  one. 
The  '  rum '  referred  to  was  pure  alcohol  intended  for  use  in 
stoves  while  traveling.  He  then  moved  the  leg  of  the  stove, 
which  stood  on  the  trap-door  of  the  cellar,  raised  the  door, 
and  filled  an  empty  oil-can  and  a  bottle  with  alcohol  stored 
in  the  cellar,  and  tied  them  on  to  a  sled. 

Rochilon  then  took  down  Zarie's  skin  clothing  and  de- 
manded that  he  should  put  it  on  and  accompany  them  to 
Tiapka  and  stay  there  all  night, — believing,  no  doubt,  that 
Zane  would  follow  them  with  a  rifle  if  set  at  liberty.  When 
Zane  refused  to  comply,  Rochilon  flourished  a  knife,  and 
declared  that  unless  he  went  with  them  he  would  be  killed. 


MAN  AND  WOMAN  OF  TIAPKA. 


As  Zane  still  objected  to  go,  believing  they  would  not  harm 
him,  Rochilon  took  all  the  fire-arms  in  the  house,  and  tied 
them  on  the  sleds.  He  told  Zane  that  they  would  be  left  at 
Tiapka;  and  when  all  was  ready  for  a  start,  the  sailors  were 


426  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

released,  and  the  natives  ran  to  their  sleds  and  hurried  away 
as  fast  as  their  dogs  could  travel.  Zane  appeared  very 
angry,  but  was  much  amused,  and  could  not  refrain  from 
telling  them  to  put  some  water  in  the  "rum"  before  drink- 
ing it. 

The  guns  were  left  at  Tapika  according  to  promise,  and 
brought  back  by  other  natives.  A  knife  which  had  been 
carried  off  with  the  alcohol  was  also  sent  back,  showing  that 
rum  was  what  they  wanted. 

After  this  little  difficulty,  a  new  agreement  was  made  with 
the  Tapika  people.  The  old  men  were  to  be  allowed  free 
access  to  the  house,  and  no  more  stealing  was  to  be  done. 
The  contract  was  honorably  kept,  and  things  went  on 
smoothly.  The  sled  party  returned  March  20th. 

Camp  Hunt  was  abandoned  May  5th,  and  its  garrison  re- 
treated southward,  traveling  by  dog-sleds.  North  Head  was 
reached  May  10th,  and  on  approaching  South  Head  they 
were  overjoyed  at  seeing  a  steamer  anchored  there. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  Waring,  while  looking  for 
Putnam,  left  letters  at  Plover  Bay  and  Marcus  Bay,  directed 
to  the  captain  of  any  whaler  which  might  arrive.  Captain 
Owens,  of  the  steam  whaler,  North  Star,  of  New  Bedford, 
got  one  of  these  letters  and  immediately  started  to  rescue 
the  men.  He  forced  his  ship  through  the  ice  opposite  St. 
Lawrence  Bay,  reaching  there  May  8th,  and  fastened  his 
ship  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  ice,  so  as  not  to  be  carried  to 
the  northward  by  the  large  floes  of  ice  floating  by. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  some  natives  who  first  saw  the  vessel 
informed  Waring  of  her  approach.  The  news  caused  great 
excitement  among  the  Rodgers  crew,  and  when  the  North 
Star  came  into  the  bay  next  day,  they  almost  cried  for  joy. 
Some  went  on  board  the  whaler  immediately,  but  it  was  not 
until  the  evening  of  May  14th  that  all  were  on  the  ship. 
The  boats,  rifles,  ammunition,  trade  goods,  and  many  other 
smaller  articles  were  distributed  among  the  natives  accord- 
ing to  the  services  they  had  rendered.  The  skin  boat  in 
which  a  line  was  carried  ashore  from  the  burning  ship,  was 


ARRIVAL   OP  THE   NORTH    STAR — THE   RESCUE.  427 

brought  home  as  a  relic.  Captain  Owens  extended  to  the 
rescued  men  the  hospitality  of  his  ship,  and  offered  to  con- 
vey them  to  St.  Michaels,  Sitka,  or  San  Francisco.  All  of 
them  felt  grateful  for  his  kindness  and  prompt  action  in 
coming  to  their  relief. 

When  tidings  of  the  loss  of  the  Rodgers  came  to  the  Uni- 
ted States  by  telegraph  from  Irkutsk,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  arranged  to  send  a  steamer  to  pick  up  the  crew.  The 
Corwin,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  M.  A.  Healey,  was  se- 
lected for  the  service,  and  sailed  from  San  Francisco  April 
24th. 

The  Corwin  arrived  off  the  south  entrance  of  St.  Lawrence 
Bay  on  the  morning  of  May  14th,  and  there  spoke  the  whaler 
Hunter,  whose  captain  confirmed  the  story  of  the  burning 
of  the  Rodgers,  and  said  that  the  North  Star  had  come 
to  rescue  the  crew.  Lieutenant  Healey  pressed  onward 
through  the  ice,  and  before  midnight  was  in  the  bay.  A 
steamer  lying  close  to  the  land  near  South  Head  was  spoken, 
and  proved  to  be  the  North  Star ;  she  had  just  taken  the 
last  of  the  Rodgers  crew  aboard,  and  was  ready  to  sail  for 
Ounalaska.  The  party  were  immediately  transferred  to  the 
Corwin,  which  started  on  her  return  early  on  the  morning 
of  May  15th. 

The  Corwin  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  June  23d,  after  a 
quick  and  pleasant  passage  via  Sitka  and  Wrangel. 

The  North  Star  was  a  new  ship  just  arrived  from  New 
Bedford,  Mass.,  via  Cape  Horn.  After  leaving  the  Corwin 
she  went  north,  and  was  crushed  by  the  ice  June  25th.  The 
crew  escaped  to  the  U.  S.  signal  station  at  Point  Barrow, 
and  were  there  cared  for  by  Lieutenant  Ray. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

GILDER'S  TRAVELS  IN  SIBERIA. 

EARLY  in  January,  1881,  Mr.  W.  H.  Gilder,  an  experi- 
enced Arctic  overland  traveler,  and  the  special  corre- 
spondent of  the  New  York  Herald  accompanying  Berry's 
search  expedition,  left  the  extreme  northeastern  coast  of 
Siberia  to  carry  to  Irkutsk,  and  from  thence  to  send  home 
by  telegraph,  tidings  of  the  burning  of  the  Rodgers.  His  mis- 
sion was  an  important  one,  for  on  its  successful  and  prompt 
execution  depended  in  a  large  degree  the  early  rescue  of  the 
Rodgers  crew.  The  following  condensed  account  of  his 
journey  to  Sredne  Kolymsk,  is  compiled  from  his  letters  to 
the  Herald. 

"  The  sun  was  above  the  horizon  less  than  two  hours  a  day 
at  the  time  I  left  Eeteetlan  for  the  Kolyma  River,  on  my 
way  to  the  telegraph  station  in  Eastern  Siberia.  This  gave 
very  short  days  and  very  long  nights,  which  is  one  of  the 
inconveniences  of  winter  journeys  within  the  Arctic  circle. 

The  natives  here,  also,  have  a  very  inconvenient  habit  of 
starting  long  before  daylight,  even  when  they  have  only  a 
short  distance  to  go  and  could  easily  accomplish  it  by  day- 
light. They  will  do  this  also  when  daylight  is  followed  by 
a  bright  moon,  and  the  mornings  are  as  dark  as  Egypt. 
They  have  no  idea  of  time,  and  often  mistake  the  northern 
light  for  approaching  sunrise.  There  seems  to  be  some  one 
up  and  moving  around  in  camp  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or 
night. 

The  day  of  Captain  Berry's  arrival  at  Eeteetlan,  there  also 
came  from  Nishni  Kolymsk  a  Russian  named  Wanker,  who 
agreed  to  take  me  to  that  city  for  the  sum  of  fifty  rubles.  I 
did  not  like  the  fellow's  appearance.  His  eyes  were  too 

(428) 


TRAVELING   COMPANIONS.  429 

close  together,  and  then  he  had  a  general  hang-dog  look  that 
would  give  him  away  in  the  company  of  saints.  He  could 
talk  fluently  with  Constantino,  though,  and  advised  me  to 
take  him  along  to  drive  my  dogs  and  as  an  interpreter. 
The  interpreting  was  all  well  enough  as  far  as  they  were 
concerned,  and  the  only  difficulty  was  in  understanding  Con- 
stantino or  making  him  understand  me. 

Knowing  I  had  to  be  for  several  months  among  the  Rus- 
sians, I  thought  that  by  gaining  the  start  by  a  few  words 
before  I  came  plump  into  their  country  I  would  acquire  an 
advantage  ;  so  I  asked  Constantino  what  the  Russians  said  for 
"  yes."  "  They  say  'yes',"  ho  replied.  This  was  easy  enough 
to  remember,  so  I  went  to  the  next  word.  "  What  do  they 
say  for  no  ?"  I  asked.  "  Why,  they  say  '  no'."  This  seemed 
a  most  remarkable  coincidence,  but  certainly  convenient,  so 
I  went  on  to  something  harder. 

"  What  does  a  Russian  man  say  when  he  is  hungry  and 
wants  something  to  eat  ?" 

"  Oh,  sir,  he  says  ho  wants  something  to  eat." 

This  was  a  little  more  than  I  could  stand,  and  I  immedi- 
ately took  a  recess.  I  saw  that  the  poor  fellow  had  no  idea 
how  he  spoke  what  little  English  he  knew.  He  did  not 
translate  it  from  one  language  to  the  other,  but  had  merely 
learned  as  a  parrot  would  learn,  only  with  greater  fluency, 
for  ho  seemed  to  have  the  well  known  facility  of  the  Rus- 
sians in  acquiring  foreign  languages,  having  in  two  months 
and  a  half  on  shipboard  learned  sufficient  to  be  of  consider- 
able use  there,  as  well  as  to  our  party  on  shore. 

En  route  Constantino  drove  my  sled,  but  we  went  very 
slowly,  for  the  dogs  I  had  were  hastily  bought  after  I  had 
made  up  my  mind  to  this  trip,  and  proved  a  sorry  lot.  Con- 
stantine  always  examined  the  dogs  as  an  expert,  and  had  a 
way  of  running  his  hand  along  the  dog's  back-bone,  and  if 
it  did  not  cut  his  finger  he  pronounced  it  a  fine  dog. 

The  second  night  of  our  journey  we  halted  at  the  village 
of  Ynedlin,  near  which  the  Vega  wintered.  We  were  enter- 
tained at  the  house  of  the  chief,  the  largest  house  I  had  yet 


430  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

seen.  The  sleeping  portion,  the  yoronger,  was  about  thirty 
feet  long  by  twelve  wide  and  seven  feet  high.  It  was  here 
that  Wanker  promised  to  meet  me  the  night  of  my  arrival, 
and  hurry  me  on  to  Nishni  Kolymsk  without  any  delay  en 
route,  merely  expressing  his  fear  that  I  could  not  stand  the 
cold  and  rapid  traveling.  I  was  forced  to  remain  at  this 
house  four  nights,  partially  detained  by  stormy  weather  and 
with  the  hope  that  Wanker  might  forget  himself  and  actu- 
ally keep  his  appointment  within  a  day  or  two.  It  was  for- 
tunate for  me  that  the  house  was  such  a  pleasant  one,  since 
I  had  to  remain  there  so  long. 

No  matter  how  early  you  may  awaken  in  the  morning,  you 
will  always  find  the  mistress  of  the  household  already  up — 
that  is,  her  position  changed  from  reclining  to  sitting,  and  as 
soon  as  she  observes  that  you  are  really  awake,  she  hands  you 
a  few  small  pieces  of  meat.  Then  she  goes  into  the  adjoining 
apartment,  and  after  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  of  pounding 
and  chopping  returns  with  the  breakfast.  A  large,  flat, 
wooden  tray  is  placed  on  the  floor,  and  the  landlady,  drop- 
ping off  her  clothes,  takes  her  position  at  one  end, — a  posi- 
tion inelegantly  but  accurately  described  as  "  squatting." 
The  family  and  their  guests  gather  around  the  board  on 
either  side,  lying  flat  on  their  stomachs  with  their  heads 
toward  the  breakfast  and  their  feet  out,  so  that  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  table  and  guests  would  look  something  like  an 
immense  beetle. 

The  first  course  is  some  frozen  weeds  mixed  with  sea  oil 
and  eaten  with  small  portions  of  fresh  blubber,  which  the 
lady  of  the  house  cuts  with  a  large  chopping  knife.  The 
next  course  is  walrus  meat.  This  is  also  cut  up  by  the  pre- 
siding lady,  and  is  served  with  no  stinting  hand.  At  this 
portion  of  the  meal  the  one  who  can  swallow  the  largest 
piece  without  chewing  has  the  advantage.  After  this  joint 
comes  a  large  piece  of  walrus  hide,  which  has  a  small  por- 
tion of  blubber  attached  to  it,  and  the  hair  still  on  the  out- 
side. This  hide  is  about  an  inch  thick  and  very  tough,  so 
that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  chew  it,  or  rather  to  affect 


CHUKCHE  AMUSEMENTS.  431 

it  by  chewing.  Even  the  dogs  will  chew  perhaps  for  half 
a  day  upon  a  small  piece  of  walrus  hide  hanging  from  a  bag 
of  meat,  and  fail  to  detach  it.  This  is,  therefore,  cut  into 
very  small  pieces  by  the  hostess,  and  finishes  the  meal.  It 
is  really  the  most  palatable  dish  of  the  meal,  and  furnishes 
something  for  the  stomach  to  act  upon  that  generally  occu- 
pies its  attention  till  the  following  meal;  but  it  is  astonish- 
ing how  easily  a  meat  diet  is  digested. 

There  are  usually  two  meals  a  day  in  a  well  provided 
Chukche's  household — the  breakfast  just  described  and  din- 
ner, which  comes  on  late  in  the  evening.  The  dinner  is 
almost  identical  in  form  with  the  breakfast,  except  that 
there  is  most  always  some  hot  cooked  meat  that  follows  the 
course  of  walrus  hide.  Some  times  the  second  course  at 
breakfast  or  dinner  may  be  frozen  seal  or  reindeer  meat,  but 
the  first  and  third  courses  are  invariable  unless  changed  by 
force  of  circumstances  beyond  the  control  of  the  house- 
holder. Besides  those  two  meals  there  is  always  a  similar 
service  to  any  guest  who  may  arrive  during  the  day  from  a 
distance,  and  all  present  share  his  luncheon  with  him,  and 
not  unfrequently  beat  him  out  unless  he  watches  closely  and 
keeps  himself  well  provided. 

The  evening  after  dinner  is  often  devoted  to  games.  They 
do  not  play  chess  or  billiards,  but  we  used  to  see  who  could 
walk  the  furthest  on  his  hands,  with  his  body  held  horizon- 
tally from  the  hips,  or  upon  his  knees,  while  his  feet  were 
held  in  his  hands  behind  him.  Or  perhaps  the  lights  were 
extinguished  and  some  one  played  upon  the  drum  or  yarar, 
and  sang  or  chanted  a  most  lugubrious  melody,  increasing 
in  volume  from  an  almost  imperceptible  sound  into  the 
loudest  noise  possible,  accompanying  the  drum  with  a  howl 
like  a  bear  at  bay,  the  most  frightful  noise  lie  could  mak;e  ; 
and  it  did  sound  prodigious  in  the  dark.  During  this  time 
the  landlord  would  occasionally  shout  'Ay-h^k,  ay-he*k/ 
which  seemed  to  inspire  the  drummer  to  renewed  exertion. 
The  drum  is  a  wooden  hoop  over  which  is  tightly  drawn  a 
thin  membrane  from  the  skin  of  the  reindeer.  It  has  a 


432  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

handle  on  one  side,  and  is  beaten  with  a  small  strip  of 
whalebone.  This  drumming  never  ceases  from  the  moment 
the  lights  are  out  until  the  concert  is  over,  which  is  gener- 
ally after  about  two  hours  and  a  half. 

We  had  a  concert  the  first  night  at  Yncdlin,  and  during 
the  performance  I  heard  Constantino  breathing  heavily  and 
gasping,  and  occasionally  breaking  out  into  groans  and 
tears.  This  attracted  the  attention  of  the  performer,  who 
stopped  and  asked  if  he  were  sick.  He  groaned  a  'Yes,' 
and  I  thought  I  would  have  to  resort  to  my  medical  stores, 
consisting  of  pills  and  bandages ;  but  I  did  not  know  which 
to  use,  for  upon  inquiry  it  transpired  that  lie  had  only  a 
broken  heart.  He  wanted  to  return  to  Tiapka,  the  village 
near  Eeteetlan,  where  was  an  old  woman  named  At-tung-er, 
who  had  grown  up  children  and  grandchildren,  and  with 
whom  he,  a  lad  of  nineteen  years,  had  fallen  in  love.  When 
asked  what  he  was  grieving  for,  he  said  '  At-tung-er ;'  and 
after  that  I  felt  relieved,  for  I  did  not  believe  he  would  die 
of  his  broken  heart.  During  the  entire  journey  this  same 
scene  was  repeated  every  time  the  yarar  was  brought  out, 
and  as  soon  as  the  lights  were  restored  he  appeared  just  as 
cheerful  as  if  nothing  disagreeable  had  ever  occurred  to 
him. 

There  were  two  girls  about  fifteen  years  of  age  in  this 
household,  one  the  daughter  of  my  host  and  the  other  some 
relation,  but  I  could  never  make  out  exactly  what.  The 
old  man  often  tried  to  explain  it  to  me  by  using  the  fingers 
of  one  hand,  which  he  named,  and  showed  that  Tay-tin- 
con-ne  was  the  same  relation  to  his  daughter,  Mdm-mak, 
that  his  thumb  was  to  his  middle  finger  ;  but  there  is  where 
I  always  fell  out.  I  never  could  satisfy  myself  as  to  the 
kinship  of  his  fingers.  Occasionally  during  the  day  or  even- 
ing these  girls  used  to  dance,  taking  their  places  side  by  side 
as  if  on  the  stage  for  a  double  clog,  and,  accompanying 
themselves  with  guttural  sounds  that  it  is  impossible  to 
describe,  executed  in  unison  fantastic  contortions  and  gyra- 
tions somewhat  similar  to  the  Indians  of  North  America. 


DANCING   GIRLS.  433 

Their  costume  was  the  usual  evening  dress  of  the  country, 
and  consisted  simply  of  a  string  of  beads  around  the  neck 
and  a  narrow  breechcloth  of  sealskin.  This  was  an  accom- 
plishment which,  I  found,  had  been  acquired  by  all  the 
children  along  the  coast,  and  such  entertainments  were  not 
rare. 

On  the  13th  of  January  I  moved  to  the  next  village, 
starting  in  the  dark  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
arriving  at  our  destination  before  noon.  There  were  two 
other  sleds  beside  mine,  which  belonged  to  a  man  from 
Onman,  who  had  with  him  his  wife  and  son,  a  young  man 
of  about  twenty-two  years,  with  yellow  hair  and  light  hazel 
eyes,  the  first  blonde  I  had  seen  with  these  people.  I  after- 
ward saw  another,  a  woman,  but  they  are  very  rare. 

Here,  too,  I  had  to  wait  four  days,  looking  for  Wanker  or 
clear  weather.  These  houses  along  the  coast  are  all  so 
many  hotels  for  the  accommodation  of  those  traveling  to 
and  fro.  The  natives  pay  nothing  for  their  entertainment 
or  for  feeding  their  dogs,  but  they  expect  much  from  any 
white  strangers  who  may  happen  to  pass  their  way.  If  the 
native  traveler  has  tobacco  or  beads,  and  his  host  wants 
some,  he  gives  it  to  him;  but  that  is  not  paying  for  his 
board  and  lodging.  He  would  do  the  same  if  he  received 
nothing  in  return. 

While  at  Peelkan,  the  second  station,  I  saw  many  natives 
who  were  returning  from  a  trip  to  East  Cape.  They  told 
me  that  Wanker  did  not  intend  to  come  along  for  some  time 
yet,  that  he  was  trading  along  the  coast.  This  was  discour- 
aging, and  I  determined  to  proceed  to  Kolyutschin  village 
as  soon  as  possible  and  get  along  as  well  as  I  could.  I 
knew  I  could  easily  find  people  going  from  one  village  to 
another  until  I  reached  Wankarem,  but  from  there  to  North 
Cape  was  a  long  stretch  without  villages.  There  was,  how- 
ever, an  old  man  who  came  to  Peelkan  on  his  way  back  to 
his  house  at  Wankarem,  who  said  he  would  take  me  on  from 
there.  He  wanted  me  to  give  him  some  biscuit  to  eat,  as 
26 


434  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

his  teeth  were  not  equal  to  .the  contest  with  frozen  walrus 
meat,  and  when  he  showed  me  the  teeth  I  agreed  with  him. 

It  was  a  long  journey  across  the  mouth  of  the  bay  to 
Kolyutschin  Island,  and  my  dogs  were  not  equal  to  the 
emergency ;  so  when  night  came  on  I  halted  and  built  a 
snow  house.  The  natives  who  had  started  with  us  reached 
the  village  that  night,  and  were  much  alarmed  for  our  safety 
when  they  found  we  did  not  get  in  during  the  night.  Their 
anxiety  was  increased  when  the  following  day  brought  a 
snowstorm  which  shut  out  the  island  from  view,  and  left  us 
as  they  supposed  without  anything  to  guide  us. 

When  we  started  in  the  morning  I  cautioned  Constantine 
tx>keep  faithfully  in  the  tracks  of  the  sleds  that  preceded 
us,  as  they  were  but  faintly  discernible  under  the  falling 
snow.  He  told  me  his  leader  was  a  good  one  and  knew  how 
to  keep  the  road.  For  a  while  I  trusted  the  dog's  instinct, 
but  when  I  found  the  wind  upon  my  back  instead  of  nearly 
directly  in  front  of  me,  as  it  should  have  been,  I  began  to 
doubt  it,  and  asked  Constantine  where  Kolyutschin  Island 
was.  He  pointed  straight  ahead  as  I  expected ;  but  I  had 
taken  the  bearing  of  the  island  by  my  pocket  compass  when 
we  halted  the  night  before,  and  on  again  regarding  it  I 
showed  my  driver  that  we  were  going  almost  exactly  in  the 
opposite  direction. 

I  then  took  charge  of  the  course  myself,  and  after  about 
an  hour  heard  the  barking  and  quarreling  of  dogs  in  a  team* 
I  could  not  see  them,  but  shouted,  and  soon  two  sleds  came 
up  that  had  been  sent  out  to  look  for  us.  They  seemed  glad 
to  have  found  us,  and  said  they  had  been  worried  all  night 
thinking  we  were  wandering  around  on  the  ice.  I  told  them, 
however,  that  we  were  comfortably  housed  and  that  I  knew 
where  Kolyutschin  lay,  at  the  same  time  pointing  in  the 
proper  direction.  Then  I  showed  them  my  compass,  and  as 
the  island  happened  to  be  just  magnetic  north  of  us  it 
appeared  all  the  more  wonderful  to  them.  They  imagined 
that  it  always  pointed  in  the  direction  you  wanted  to  go. 

While  we  were  at  Kolyutschin,  Wanker  came  up,  being 


ARRIVAL   OF   WANKER.  435 

•nly  eleven  days  behind,  and  I  felt  greatly  relieved  when  I 
saw  him.  We  subsequently  moved  to  Wankarem  and  pro- 
ceeded on  our  journey  with  greater  celerity  than  before,  but 
not  fast  enough  to  satisfy  one  who  felt  so  entirely  dependent 
upon  one  man,  and  he  thoroughly  unreliable  and  bad.  All 
along  the  route  the  natives,  when  an  opportunity  offered, 
cautioned  me  against  him,  and  said  he  meant  no  good  by 
me.  They  begged  me  to  return  to  Eeteetlan  and  offered  to 


CAPE  NORTH. 

take  me  there.  The  only  thing  I  was  afraid  of  was  that 
Wanker  would  get  up  in  the  night  and  run  off  with  his 
team,  leaving  me  high  and  dry  on  the  beach. 

From  Wankarem  to  North  Cape  the  weather  was  intensely 
cold,  and  the  whole  party,  native  and  white  (for  there  were 
three  natives'  sleds  with  us),  suffered  from  frost  bites, 
though  not  of  a  serious  nature.  We  found  plenty  of  drift 
wood  at  several  points  along  the  coast,  and  halted  to  make 
tea  and  cook  some  meat.  This  I  found  took  the  raw  edge 
off  the  cold,  and  made  traveling  and  sleeping  without  shelter 
much  more  endurable.  From  North  Cape  to  Oogarkin  there 
were  villages  at  intervals  of  from  five  to  thirty  miles.  From 


436  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

Oogarkin  to  Erktreen,  a  native  village  of  nineteen  houses, 
near  Cape  Chelagskoi,  there  were  no  houses,  and  we  slept 
three  nights  on  the  snow.  Drift  wood  was  plentiful,  and  in 
ordinary  weather  camping  out  would  not  have  been  as  dis- 
agreeable as  might  be  supposed. 

We  found  several  people  at  Eumatk,  near  Oogarkin,  who 
were  on  their  way  to  Nishni  Kolymsk,  and  on  the  morning 
of  February  8,  eight  sleds,  drawn  by  ninety-three  dogs, 
started.  It  was  a  brilliant  sight,  or  would  have  been,  if  you 
could  have  seen  it ;  but  the  start  was  at  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  about  three  hours  and  a  half  before  daylight. 
Some  of  the  sleds  had  gaudy  calico  storm  coats  thrown  over 
them,  and  the  harness  of  several  teams  was  trimmed  with 
red.  One  man  had  several  small  bells  attached  to  his 
harness,  but  I  never  heard  a  sound  from  them,  and  doubt 
that  they  had  tongues.  I  believe  they  were  dumb  bells,  and 
intended  solely  for  ornament. 

It  was  a  pleasant  day  at  first,  but  during  the  afternoon  a 
storm  of  wind  and  snow  sprang  up  from  the  direction  of 
our  line  of  march,  and  when  we  halted  at  night  it  was  blow- 
ing a  gale — a  genuine  poorga — which  continued  throughout 
the  night  and  following  day.  When  I  lay  down  to  sleep  I 
sought  shelter  behind  a  shed,  but  soon  had  to  leave  it  because 
I  found  myself  nearly  suffocated  by  the  weight  of  snow  on 
top  of  me.  Then  I  noticed  the  natives,  more  wise  than  I, 
had  lain  down  on  the  crest  of  the  hill  and  were  free  from 
snow.  Traveling  the  next  day  was  simply  torture,  but  it 
would  have  been  equally  bad  to  sit  still  out  of  doors,  so  we 
kept  on.  The  night  was  a  pleasant  one  and  we  slept  well. 

The  next  halt  was  on  the  rocky  coast  not  a  great  distance 
from  Chelagskoi,  and  a  huge  cavern  in  the  face  of  the  cliff 
afforded  small  protection  from  the  wind,  but  made  a  most 
picturesque  camping  place.  The  following  day  we  reached 
Erktreen,  and  right  glad  we  were,  for  a  frightful  poorga  was 
raging  and  the  dogs  could  scarcely  make  any  headway 
against  it.  There  were  plenty  of  houses  here,  and  but  little 


A    NIGHT   IN   THE   SNOW.  437 

food.  In  fact,  in  the  house  where  I  slept,  we  fed  the 
occupants  instead  of  eating  their  provisions. 

The  next  stretch  was  a  long  one,  and  we  slept  four  nights 
in  the  snow.  The  natives  were  all  very  kind  to  me.  They 
knew  that  Wanker  was  not  helping  me  any  more  than  he 
should,  so  they  each  had  something  for  '  Keifey,'  as  is  my 
Chukche  name,  and  I  believe  I  fared  better  than  any  one  in 
the  party. 

About  noon  time  of  the  third  day  out  we  reached  Bassarika, 
a  deserted  village  of  five  log  houses,  which  at  one  time  con- 
stituted a  village  of  Russian  trappers.  Here  we  found  a 
large  quantity  of  bear  meat  and  dried  fish  for  dog  food 
which  they  had  cached  on  their  way  down  the  coast,  and, 
taking  a  good  supply  upon  our  sleds,  we  gorged  like  genuine 
savages  that  night  and  slept  soundly  and  warm. 

As  night  approached  on  the  day  following  we  were  near 
the  native  village  of  Diardlowran,  the  Barranno  of  the 
Russians.  Three  of  the  sleds  halted  on.  the  beach  at  dark, 
while  the  sled  tp  which  I  was  attached  and  two  others  started 
to  make  a  short  cut  across  land  to  the  village.  One  of  the 
natives  with  us  lived  at  that  place,  and  was  anxious  to  get 
home  after  an  absence  of  two  months  and  a  half.  But  with- 
out landmarks  on  the  bare  waste  of  snow  and  no  coast  line 
to  guide  us  even,  he  had  to  give  up  the  search,  though  less 
than  three  miles  from  home,  and  we  lay  down  in  the  snow 
to  wait  for  daylight.  But  before  dawn  came  the  worst  poorga 
I  ever  encountered,  and  when  we  started  in  the  morning  we 
could  see  less  distance  ahead  than  when  we  halted  in  the 
dark.  It  was  a  terrible  struggle,  that  little  march  of  about 
two  miles  and  a  half.  The  wind  blew  directly  in  our  faces 
and  drove  the  sharp  particles  of  hard  frozen  snow  against 
the  eyeballs  and  cheeks,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  look  to 
windward  for  more  than  a  hasty  glance.  The  dogs  could 
not  face  the  storm  and  lay  dowft  in  the  harness,  so  that  we 
had  to  go  ahead  and  drag  them  along,  while  we  waded  pain- 
fully through  snow  nearly  waist  deep.  One  sled  was  soon 


438  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

left  behind,  while  Wile-d6te,  the  native  of  the  neighboring 
village,  and  Wanker  and  I  floundered  on  through  the  storm. 

At  last  we  reached  a  hillside  swept  by  the  wind,  and  found 
sled-tracks  which  Wile-d6te  recognized  as  the  right  trail,  and 
we  trotted  along  merrily  until  the  sleds  were  caught  by  the 
wind  and  swept  over  a  precipice.  I  saw  Wile-d6te  and  his 
team  disappear  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff  into  a  cloud  of 
whirling  snow,  and  knew  that  in  a  second  we  must  go  too. 
I  could  do  nothing  but  close  my  eyes  and  set  my  teeth  when 
I  felt  myself  in  the  air  and  falling  I  knew  not  where. 
Fortunately  it  was  a  fall  of  but  about  twenty  feet  to  a  snow- 
bank, down  which  the  dogs,  the  sled,  and  I  rolled  to  the 
bottom,  while  I  saw  Wanker,  who  had  been  sitting  on  the 
other  side  of  the  sled,  with  his  back  to  tlie  cliff,  shot  over 
my  head  and  reach  the  bottom  first.  I  knew  no  one  had 
been  hurt,  for  the  snow  was  very  soft  and  we  were  almost 
buried  by  the  drift  before  we  could  regain  our  feet ;  and  I 
could  not  help  laughing  at  the  ridiculous  figure  poor  Wanker 
cut  as  he  passed  over  my  head,  rolled  up  in  a  little  ball  and 
desperately  grasping  his  brake.  He  looked  like  a  witch 
riding  on  her  broomstick.  Wile-d<5te's  sled  was  broken,  and 
falling  on  his  leg  caused  a  slight  but  not  very  painful  con- 
tusion. 

We  then  began  to  look  around  to  find  some  way  out  of 
this  pit,  but  found  it  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  of  rock  and 
snow,  except  one  narrow  drift  that  led  again  to  the  top  of 
the  hill.  We  plunged  along  as  well  as  we  could,  but  could 
only  make  a  few  yards'  advance  at  a  time,  for  the  dogs  had 
to  be  dragged  along  by  main  force.  Time  and  time  again 
we  were  compelled  to  throw  ourselves  down  in  the  snow  and 
rest  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  before  making  further  exertion. 
Once  again  we  were  blown  off  the  hill,  but  this  time  into  a 
valley,  which  Wile-d6te  recognized  as  the  road  to  the  village 
not  more  than  half  a  mile  away. 

We  now  moved  along  more  rapidly  and  soon  found  the 
coast,  and  a  short  turn  to  the  right  brought  us  directly  into 
the  houses  before  we  could  see  them.  Several  times  during 


ON   THE   BORDERS    OF    CIVILIZATION.  439 

the  morning'  I  had  to  remove  from  my  face  a  perfect  mould 
or  mask  of  frozen  snow,  half  an  inch  thick,  and  my  nose, 
cheeks,  chin,  and  forehead  were  badly  frozen.  My  com- 
panions fared  110  better.  Three  of  Wile-d6te's  dogs  perished 
during  the  storm,  and  I  found,  upon  looking  at  my  watch 
after  entering  the  house,  that  we  had  been  more  than  seven 
hours  upon  the  road.  The  other  sled  got  in  toward  night, 
but  the  three  that  halted  on  the  beach  did  not  overtake  us 
until  the  second  day  after  we  left  Diardlowran.  At  this 
village  we  found  four  Russians  from  Nishni  Kolymsk,  who 
were  much  interested  in  the  recital  of  our  adventures  during 
the  morning. 

The  next  morning  we  again  set  out  upon  our  journey, 
three  of  the  Russians  accompanying  us.  Wanker  put  me 
on  the  sled  of  one  of  these  people,  and  right  glad  was  I  of 
the  change,  for  now  I  felt  sure  that  I  would  reach  my  desti- 
nation. This  man  looked  honest  and  intelligent,  though  he 
could  not  read,  and  said  so.  That  night  we  halted  at  a 
deserted  hut  half  filled  with  snow,  but  it  was  a  sufficient 
shelter  from  a  poorga  that  was  raging  at  the  time,  and  ever 
so  much  better  than  sleeping  out  of  doors.  Indeed,  it  was 
cheerful  and  cosey,  with  a  fire  blazing  in  the  middle  of  the 
hut  and  a  little  of  the  smoke  escaping  through  a  hole  in  the 
roof,  but  most  of  it  pervading  the  apartment.  The  tea-kettle 
hung  over  the  flame  and  a  large  pot  of  reindeer  meat  was 
cooking  on  one  side  of  the  fire,  while  we  ate  frozen  fish, 
which  my  new  driver  pulled  from  among  the  rafters.  While 
we  waited  for  the  tea  my  new  Russian  friends  sang  a  pretty 
little  chorus,  and  I  slept,  dreaming  of  home,  and  feeling 
more  at  home  than  I  had  for  weeks.  I  had  at  last  reached 
the  borders  of  civilization  and  had  no  longer  to  crawl  at 
night  into  the  huts  of  the  savages ;  and  yet  I  could  not  forgefe 
how  often  I  had  been  so  glad  to  crawl  into  those  same  dirty 
hovels  to  escape  from  storms  and  hunger. 

The  next  day  we  reached  quite  a  large  deserted  village, 
and  Wanker  here  told  me  that  the  next  day  we  would  reach 
his  house,  and  that  there  we  would  have  to  wait  for  Constan- 


440  THE   JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

tine,  who  was  four  days  behind  us,  the  sled  he  was  with  and 
one  other  having  been  separated  from  us  during  a  poorga 
the  first  day  out  from  Erktreen. 

Before  reaching  Wanker's  house  we  stopped  at  a  log  house 
to  get  some  tea.  This  was  the  first  inhabited  house  I  had 
seen,  and  I  regarded  it  with  due  interest.  There  was  but 
one  room,  with  the  fireplace  in  the  corner,  on  which  was 
blazing  a  glorious  fire  that  made  my  frozen  nose  glow  with 
the  heat.  There  stood  the  steaming  tea-kettle,  and  as  we 
entered,  the  lady  of  the  house,  attired  in  a  loose  robe,  not 
gathered  in  at  the  waist,  but  flowing  from  the  shoulders  half- 
way down  her  leather  boot-legs,  cut  some  pieces  of  reindeer 
meat  from  one  of  two  carcasses  that  leaned  against  the  wall, 
with  the  skins  still  covering  them,  and  fried  them  in  a  pan 
over  the  glowing  coals.  In  the  meantime  a  frozen  fish  was 
cut  into  slices  and  placed  before  us,  with  an  additional  plate 
of  dried  fish  and  some  preserved  cranberries,  and  afterward 
the  hot  tea  that  made  the  remainder  of  my  journey  quite 
comfortable.  While  we  were  partaking  of  the  hospitality  of 
the  Russian  native,  three  sledge  loads  of  Chukches  arrived 
and  were  similarly  entertained.  I  thought  it  must  be  a  con- 
siderable tax  upon  the  time  and  hospitality  of  those  who 
live  upon  the  lines  of  travel  to  entertain  so  many  guests, 
for  no  one  passes  their  houses  without  entering,  and  no  one 
pays  anything  for  hrs  entertainment.  All  the  guests,  except- 
ing myself,  even  the  Chukches,  crossed  themselves  when 
they  entered  the  house,  as  well  as  before,  and  after  eating 
and  when  they  left. 

I  told  Wanker  that  I  would  rather  go  on  to  Nishni 
Kolymsk,  but  he  would  not  listen  to  it,  and  insisted  that  I 
should  remain  at  his  house.  I  poured  my  complaint  into 
the  ear  of  my  driver  that  day,  and  though  he  understood 
little  of  what  I  said  he  did  seize  the  main  point,  which  was 
that  I  staid  at  Wanker's  against  my  will  and  preferred  to  go 
to  Nishni  Kolymsk.  He  said,  '  Da,  da,'  and  meant  '  yes/ 
and  here  our  conversation  ended.  He  delivered  me  at 
Wanker's  that  night  and  departed  early  next  morning. 


WANKER  S   HOME. 


441 


There  was  one  thing  that  struck  me  with  considerable 
force  when  my  course  was  turned  from  the  northern  coast 
of  Siberia  into  the  Kolyma  River.  The  second  day  of  my 
journey  on  that  river,  I  noticed  as  we  passed  near  the  shore 
— first,  higher  grass  than  I  had  seen  before,  then  a  short 
growth  of  bushes,  then  stunted  shrubbery,  and  afterward 
two  solitary,  lonely  trees  standing  side  by  side.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  miles  the  trees  became  more  numerous 
along  the  banks  of  the  river  until  I  reached  Wanker's  house, 
which  is  situated  in  a  grove  of  trees  thirty  or  more  feet  high. 


BEAKER  SPONGES  FROM  THE  SEA  OFF  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  KOLYMA, 

I  had  not  expected  to  see  all  this  climatic  change  in  one 
day's  travel. 

At  Wanker's  house  the  entire  family  crossed  themselves- 
in  front  of  the  pictures  of  saints  in  one  corner,  and  bowed 
as  they  muttered  their  prayers.  Wanker,  too,  went  through 
the  same  forms,  but  not,  I  thought,  sufficiently  to  make  up 
for  the  time  he  had  lost  in  the  Chukche's  houses  along  the 
coast'.  He  spoke  the  Chukche  language  perfectly,  so  that  I 
felt  certain  that  he  was  at  least  a  half-breed.  He  wore  their 
amulets  to  cure  him  when  he  was  sick,  and  was  with  them  a 
skillful  shaman  or  medicine-man.  No  one  could  excel  him 


442  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

in  the  performance  upon  the  drum,  and  yet  all  these  were 
laid  aside  at  home,  and  he  was  apparently  as  pious  as  any  of 
his  family. 

The  day  following  my  arrival  at  Wanker's  my  good  friend 
the  driver  came  early  with  a  stranger,  and  I  felt  certain  that 
my  hour  of  deliverance  was  near  at  hand.  And  sure  enough, 
the  stranger  read  my  letter  from  the  consul  and  told  me  I 
should  go  along  with  him.  Wanker  got  very  red  in  the  face, 
and  submitted  with  bad  grace  to  an  arrangement  that  I 
was  certain  did  not  please  him.  But  I  saw  that  the  quiet 
stranger  had  some  power,  and  could  enforce  his  will. 

Glad  enough  was  I  to  go  away  and  with  such  a  kind  and 
considerate  conductor,  but  I  was  overpowered  when  I  found 
a  covered  sled  in  waiting  to  take  me  like  a  prince  in  triumph 
to  my  destination.  It  was  a  bitterly  cold  day,  and  I  was 
pleased  when  we  halted  at  a  village  half  way  to  the  town  to 
get  some  hot  tea  and,  as  usual,  with  it  frozen  fish.  Here 
the  whole  village  had  turned  out  to  receive  me,  and  the  men 
stood  in  line  with  their  heads  bared  and  bowing  as  I  passed 
them  into  the  house. 

A  friendly  crowd  greeted  me  at  Nishni  Kolymsk,  also,  but 
though  of  my  own  race  I  could  only  talk  with  them  in  the 
language  of  the  savages.  My  new  friend  took  me  to  his 
house,  and  did  everything  in  his  power  to  entertain  me  and 
assist  in  carrying  out  my  plans.  I  found  that  he  was  a 
Cossack,  and  acting  commander  during  the  absence  of  that 
official  in  Sredne  Kolymsk.  I  managed  to  make  myself 
understood,  and  he  told  me  that  at  Sredne  I  would  find  some 
one  who  spoke  French,  and  that  he  would  send  me  to  that 
place  with  a  Cossack  who  would  take  me  in  three  or  four 
days.  At  Nishni  Kolymsk  I  first  heard  of  the  loss  of  the 
Jeannette  and  that  some  of  her  people  had  survived. 

After  Constantine  arrived  and  I  had  finished  my  business 
I  started  for  Sredne  Kolymsk  with  my  Cossack  guide,  and 
bade  good-bye  to  some  of  the  kindest  people  I  ever  met.  All 
seemed  equally  anxious  to  do  something  for  me,  and  my 
landlord  seemed  really  sad  at  parting.  I  had  been  at  his 


ARRIVAL   AT    SREDNE   KOLYMSK.  443 

house  four  days,  and  during  that  time  he  had  devoted  him- 
self entirely  to  me,  trying  to  make  amends  for  the  ill  con- 
duct of  my  traveling  companion  Wanker,  who,  by  the  by, 
had  told  the  Russians  we  met  at  Diardlowran,  that  he  had 
brought  me  to  the  Kolyma  because  I  was  big  and  strong, 
and  he  was  going  to  keep  me  at  his  house  until  the  winter 
was  past,  and  then  I  would  be  a  good  hand  to  catch  fish  for 
him. 

I  reached  Sredne  Kolymsk  on  Sunday,  the  5th  of  March, 
and  was  met  in  the  street  by  a  fine  looking  old  gentlemen  in 
a  handsome  uniform,  who  addressed  me  in  French  and  in- 
formed me  that  he  was  the  Prefet  de  Police  for  the  district, 
and  invited  me  to  his  house.  It  sounded  most  delightfully 
to  hear  once  more  a  familiar  Christian  language,  and  not  to 
be  compelled  to  converse  with  intelligent  people  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  savage.  At  this  house  I  met  also  M.  Kotcher- 
offski,  formerly  prefet  of  the  district  of  Verkhoyansk,  but 
who  had  just  arrived  to  relieve  my  host,  M.  de  Varowa,  as 
the  latter  informed  me,  at  the  same  time  stating  that  he 
would  start  for  Yakutsk  in  a  few  days,  and  extending  me 
an  invitation  to  accompany  him.  I  gladly  accepted  his 
offer. 

Sredne,  or  Middle  Kolymsk,  is  a  Russian  settlement  of 
about  500  inhabitants,  including  Russians,  Yakuts,  and  a 
few  Chukches.  The  houses  are  all  built  of  hewn  logs,  are 
but  one  story  high,  and  the  windows  are  glazed  with  blocks 
of  transparent  ice.  Some  of  the  houses  have  windows  of 
glass,  but  these  are  always  much  broken  and  mended,  so 
that  seen  from  the  outside  they  look  like  stained  glass  win- 
dows of  a  church.  The  most  conspicuous  building  there,  as 
in  all  the  little  Russian  towns,  is  the  church  edifice,  which 
is  of  Oriental  architecture,  with  a  dome  surmounted  by  a 
cross  and  exceedingly  florid  in  its  style  of  ornamentation. 
Adjoining  the  church  and  within  the  same  enclosure  is  a 
small  wooden  tower,  surrounded  by  a  block  house,  which 
was  built  by  the  first  settlers  of  Sredne  as  a  means  of  de- 
fence against  the  savage  Yakuts  and  Chukches.  The  town. 


444  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

is  irregularly  built  and  extends  over  a  considerable  area  of 
ground,  the  government  buildings  being  situated  about  a 
mile  from  the  center.  By  government  buildings  is  meant 
merely  the  storehouses  for  grain  and  bread,  and  for  the  skins 
which  are  received  for  taxes.  These  buildings  are  of  logs, 
with  great  heavy  doors,  and  padlocks  about  the  size  of  an 
ordinary  valise,  while  the  key  is  a  load  in  itself. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  the  storehouses  while  in  Sredne,  to  wit- 
ness the  process  of  turning  over  the  property  to  the  new 
prefet  or  ispravnik,  as  he  is  termed,  but  it  was  a  very  unin- 
teresting process  and  the  weather  so  intensely  cold  that  I 
did  not  stay  long.  A  gang  of  laborers,  heavily  clad  in  skin 
clothing,  were  running  around  with  bundles  on  their  shoul- 
ders and  dumping  them  upon  one-  of  the  platforms  of  a  pair 
of  immense  balance  scales,  such  as  I  thought  had  long  since 
become  obsolete.  The  beam  was  suspended  in  the  middle, 
and  had  a  platform  a  yard  square  hung  by  the  corners  to 
either  end  of  it.  On  one  side  were  piled  bundles  of  skins 
or  grain  in  cow  skin  bags,  and  on  the  other  were  heaped  up 
big  iron  weights  about  the  size  of  a  hundred  pound  shell, 
with  handles.  It  looked  as  if  the  articles  to  be  weighed 
were  exactly  counterbalanced  by  the  proper  amount  of  iron 
weights,  and  then  they  guessed  how  much  iron  there  was. 

I  saw  another  curious  balance  here,  a  sort  of  combination 
of  the  beam  with  the  steelyard,  which  is  for  weighing  small 
articles.  It  has  a  scoop  suspended  from  one  end  of  the 
graduated  steel  rod,  in  which  is  placed  the  article  to  be 
weighed ;  on  the  other  end  of  the  rod  is  a  fixed  weight,  and 
the  balance  is  obtained  by  sliding  the  rod  along  the  ring 
that  holds  it  in  suspension.  I  had  been  used  to  seeing  the 
weight  moved,  and  it  was  a  novelty  to  see  the  whole  beam 
sliding  along  instead.  Pacing  up  and  down  near  the  scales 
with  a  gun  upon  his  shoulder  was  a  Cossack,  who  looked 
strangely  bundled  up  in  furs  and  under  arms.  Near  the 
beam  stood  the  new  ispravnik,  wrapped  up  so  that  nothing 
could  be  seen  of  him  except  his  eyes.  I  do  not  remember 
ever  having  felt  the  cold  more  keenly,  than  during  the  first 


CURIOUS   CONTRIVANCES.  445 

three  days  I  was  in  Sredne.  Unfortunately  there  is  no 
thermometer  in  any  of  these  towns  north  and  east  of 
Yakutsk,  where  observations  of  the  weather  would  be  so 
interesting. 

The  dwellings  in  Sredne,  as  well  as  throughout  that  part 
of  Siberia,  consist  usually  of  three  rooms,  and  are  heated  by 
an  open  fireplace,  built  of  poles,  which  extend  up  through 
the  roof  and  form  a  low  chimney.  The  poles  are  covered 
with  mud  to  protect  them  from  the  flames,  and  the  wood  is 
stood  on  end  in  the  fireplace,  resting  against  the  back. 
There  is  plenty  of  wood,  and  it  makes  a  brilliant  flame  and 
an  abundance  of  glowing  coals.  On  this  same  fireplace  the 
cooking  for  the  establishment  is  carried  on  apparently  with 
equal  skill  by  the  men  and  women.  The  culinary  arrange- 
ments are,  however,  of  the  simplest  character,  the  staples 
of  food  being  fish,  rye-bread,  and  tea.  All  the  lakes  and 
rivers  abound  with  most  excellent  fish,  and  the  poorer 
classes  eat  nothing  else.  I  can  attest  the  excellent  quality 
of  the  fish,  especially  raw  and  frozen. 

Breakfast  here  consists  of  bread  and  tea,  with,  perhaps, 
frozen  or  dried  fish,  and  later  in  the  day  meat,  soup,  and  tea, 
and  in  the  evening  meat  or  fish  and  tea.  It  is  impossible  to 
imagine  what  these  .people  would  do  without  tea.  It  is  the 
universal  beverage  and  they  drink  from  four  to  fifteen  cups 
at  one  meal,  sometimes  with  milk  and  sometimes  with 
sugar.  The  sugar  is  not  put  into  the  cup  with  the  tea,  it  is 
too  precious  for  that,  but  a  lump  is  served  to  each  person, 
and  as  he  sips  his  tea  he  nibbles  at  the  lump  which  is  his 
portion  for  the  meal. 

At  Sredne  Kolymsk,  I  saw  several  political  exiles,  social- 
ists, nine  in  all,  who  are  sentenced  for  various  terms.  There 
were  also  two  at  Nishne — one  a  socialist,  and  the  other  a 
Pole — who  had  been  implicated  in  political  intrigues  inimical 
to  the  imperial  government.  His  sentence  had  originally 
been  for  twenty-five  years  at  Ahlokminsk,  between  Yakutsk 
and  Irkutsk,  but  one  day,  in  a  fit  of  indignation  at  the  gov- 
ernment, he  gave  expression  to  his  anger  by  spitting  on  a 


446  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

portrait  of  his  late  Imperial  Majesty,  and  was  sent  to  the 
most  distant  outpost  of  the  government  in  Siberia.  I  found 
him  a  very  pleasant  old  gentleman  of  polished  manners  and 
education,  entirely  distinct  from  the  people  with  whom  he  is 
at  present  thrown ;  but  he  has  grown  gray  and  aged  since 
he  left  his  home  in  Warsaw,  and  says  he  feels  almost  equally 
at  home  in  Siberia.  It  was  rather  difficult  to  talk  with  him, 
as  he  only  remembered  a  few  words  of  French,  though  he 
spoke  German  fluently,  but  I  didn't. 

I  visited  the  socialists  at  their  houses  in  Sredne,  and 
found  most  of  them  pretty  much  the  kind  of  keople  I  had 
imagined — a  sort  of  intelligent  lunatic.  But  there  were 
exceptions.  There  were  gentlemen  whom  I  could  .not  imag- 
ine guilty  of  an  evil  thought,  and  these  I  found  were  held 
in  high  esteem  by  the  officers  of  the  government  who  have 
them  under  their  charge.  They  were  all  interested  in  the 
American  stranger  and  seemed  to  imagine  an  affinity  be- 
tween my  countrymen  and  the  socialists.  They  were  much 
surprised  when  I  told  them  that  their  party  was  but  poorly 
represented  in  the  United  States  and  that  such  as  we  had 
were  foreigners,  that  I  did  not  personally  know  of  a  single 
native  American  socialist. 

I  never  saw  religion  so  universal  as  the  Greek  religion  in 
Siberia.  Not  only  the  Russian  inhabitants,  but  the  Yakuts, 
Tunguses,  Amoots,  and  Chukches  who  reside  near  the  settle- 
ments are  all  equally  religious.  It  seemed  to  me  to  be  a 
most  convenient  religion,  for  it  consisted,  as  far  as  I  could 
see,  in  crossing  one's  self  and  bowing  before  the  pictures, 
and  in  fasting  upon  a  fish  diet  when  there  was  scarcely 
anything  but  fish  to  eat.  The  most  pious  old  man  I  saw 
among  them  could  scarcely  restrain  his  anger  at  some  in- 
fringement of  his  orders  one  day  until  he  had  finished  his 
prayers.  He  then  turned  and  opened  upon  the  offending 
head  such  a  volley  of — well,  if  not  oaths,  they  sounded  as  if 
they  would  have  been  when  translated.  It  is  a  beautiful 
religion  at  any  rate,  and  abounds  in  affectionate  salutes. 
All  these  forms  are  particularly  dear  to  the  Yakut,  and 


THE   KISS    OP   DEVOTION.  447 

never  omitted,  at  least  in  the  presence  of  a  white  man. 
After  prayers  every  one  kisses  every  one  else  three  times, 
once  on  each  cheek  and  once  on  the  mouth.  This  is  univer- 
sal— men,  women  and  children,  servants  and  masters,  sol- 
diers and  their  commanding  officers.  It  is  neither  the 
ecstatic  nor  paroxysmal  kiss  nor  yet  the  Platonic,  but  simply 
the  kiss  of  devotion. 

The  entire  household  join  in  prayers,  all  standing  before 
the  chromos  of  saints  with  metallic  rays  attached  to  their 
heads  in  the  most  realistic  fashion,  and  cross  themselves 
and  bow  in  unison  unless  some  one  particularly  devout  pros- 
trates himself  upon  the  floor  and  kisses  the  planks  in  the 
fervor  of  his  religious  zeal.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight  to  me 
to  see  the  gray  haired  prefet  take  the  little  Nanyah  by  the 
hand  and  lead  her  before  the  family  altar,  where  they  stood 
side  by  side  at  their  devotions.  When  finished,  she  would 
cross  her  dear  little  hands  and  hold  them  suppliantly  toward 
her  companion,  while  he  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  her 
and  dropped  his  hard  hand  upon  hers.  This  concluded  the 
devotion.  It  is  a  convenient  religion  for  a  lazy  man,  for  in 
the  365  days  that  compose  the  year  there  are  no  less  than 
450  saints'  days  or  holy  days,  and  no  good  Christian  would 
work  upon  a  holy  day.  Were  it  not  that  the  fish  are  so 
abundant  I  fear  these  people  would  starve  to  death.  , 

I  never  could  make  out  the  exact  position  occupied  by 
la  petite  Nanyah  in  the  household  at  Sredne.  She  seemed 
to  unite  the  duties  of  a  plaything,  a  daughter,  and  a  servant. 
I  first  saw  her  the  day  that  I  arrived  at  the  house  of  the 
prefet.  My  attention  had  been  attracted  by  a  brilliant 
costume  of  the  Amoots,  and  to  show  it  to  better  advantage 
the  ever-useful  Nanyah  was  called  upon  as  a  lay  figure. 
There  was  neither  hesitation  nor  boldness  in  her  manner. 
She  was  simply  showing  the  dress,  not  herself.  She  had 
neither  fear  of  the  stranger  nor  hesitation  to  accommodate 
him  by  wearing  this  gaudy,  savage,  costume.  With  her  it 
was  simply  a  pleasure  to  please  others. 

I  was  told  that  Nanyah  was  to  be  our  traveling  companion 


448  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

to  Yakutsk,  that  she  was  affianced  to  an  officer  of  the  regi- 
ment stationed  there,  and  this  would  be  the  first  time  she 
had  ever  been  away  from  Sredne  Kolymsk. 

During  my  sojourn  in  Sredne,  as  well  as  in  Nishni  Kol- 
ymsk, I  was  frequently  invited  to  partake  of  the  hospitality 
of  some  of  the  inhabitants.  At  all  such  entertainments  it 
seemed  to  be  a  principle  with  the  host  to  insist  upon  my 
drinking  a  glass  of  vodka — that  is,  diluted  alcohol — about 
every  five  minutes.  At  first  I  thought  I  must  submit  my- 
self to  the  custom  of  the  country  and  sustain  myself  as  best 
I  could,  and  the  consequence  was  that  when  dinner  was  over 
I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  whether  I  had  eaten  anything  or 
not,  but  I  was  quite  sure  that  I  had  drank  something. 
Later  I  found  out  that  all  that  was  required  was  that  you 
should  sip  the  liquor  and  thus  avoid  the  evil  consequences 
of  heavy  drinking,  and  governed  my  drinking  accordingly. 
I  learned  that  the  Russian  rule  is  a  glass  of  vodka  before 
dinner,  before  each  plate,  during  each  plate,  after  eacli  plate 
and  after  dinner — that  is  all." 

From  Sredne  Kolymsk  Mr.  Gilder  journeyed  to  Verk- 
hoyausk,  where  he  heard  of  the  loss  of  the  Jeannette  and 
turned  north  to  join  Melville,  as  stated  in  Chapter  XXXII. 
Meantime  the  news  of  the  burning  of  the  Rodgers  was 
carried  to  Yakutsk  by  a  special  courier,  and  transmitted  to 
the  United  States  by  telegraph  from  Irkutsk. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

STORY  OF  THE  FORLORN  HOPE. 

following  chapters  giving  additional  particulars  of 
-L  Noros  and  Nindermann's  journey  to  Bulun,  and  of 
Melville's  November  search  for  De  Long,  etc.,  are  compiled 
from  Mr.  Jackson's  letters.  Mr.  Nindermann's  narrative, 
given  below,  commences  on  the  6th  of  October. 

"  On  the  6th  of  October,  Erickson's  condition  left  no  hope  of 
'recovery,  and  it  was  feared  that  he  would  be  unable  to  move 
on  further.  I  was  alone  in  the  hut  and  the  captain  asked 
me  if  I  was  strong  enough  to  go  to  Kumak  Surka,  which  lie 
said  was  only  twenty-five  miles  distant.  He  thought  that  I 
with  a  companion  would  be  able  to  make  the  journey  and 
return  to  them  in  four  days.  He  told  me  that  if  we  failed 
to  find  people  at  Kumak  Surka,  we  should  then  go  further  to 
a  place  called  Ajakit,  which  he  said  was  about  forty-five 
miles  further  to  the  south  than  Kumak  Surka.  '  If  you  find 
people,'  he  said,  '  come  back  as  quickly  as  possible  and  bring 
with  you  meat  enough  to  feed  us  until  we  can  get  to  the 
place.' 

The  captain  asked  me  which  of  the  men  I  would  take 
with  me  on  the  journey,  and  I  said  Noros.  He  asked  me  if 
I  would  not  rather  take  Iverson,  but  I  said  no,  Iverson  had 
been  complaining  of  his  feet  for  some  days.  He  then  agreed  to 
my  selection,  and  said  further,  <  Nindermann,  you  know  that 
we  have  nothing  to  eat,  and  that  I  can  give  you  nothing  with 
you  on  your  journey ;  but  I  will  give  you  your  portion  of  the 
dog  meat.' 

As  we  talked  about  these  things  the  doctor  walked  up  and 
looked  at  Erickson,  and  exclaimed, c  Ho  is  dead  ! '  We  were 
27  (449) 


460  THE  JEANNETTB   ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

all  awed.  The  captain  then  said,  '  Nindermann,  now  we  will 
all  go  southward.'  This  was  about  nine  o'clock  when  Erick- 
son  died. 

The  captain  then  asked  me  where  we  could  find  a  place  to 
bury  him ;  I  answered  that  the  earth  was  too  hard  frozen  to 
dig  a  grave,  and  that  we  had  no  implements  with  us ;  we 
could  do  nothing  else  than  make  a  hole  in  the  ice  of  the 
river,  and  bury  him  there.  The  captain  said  yes,  it  must  be 
BO,  and  then  told  Noros  and  Kaack  to  sew  the  body  up  in  a 
portion  of  the  canvas  belonging  to  the  tent. 

At  midday  we  were  ready  to  bury  him ;  the  flag  was  placed 
over  him,  and  we  had  a  little  warm  water  with  alcohol  in  it 
for  our  dinner.  When  we  had  drunk  that  the  captain  said : 
*  We  will  now  bury  our  shipmate.'  All  were  very  still,  and 
the  captain  spoke  a  few  words  to  us,  and  when  he  was 
finished  we  took  our  comrade  toward  the  river,  and  then  made 
a  hole  in  the  ice  with  a  hatchet.  The  captain  then  read  the 
service  for  the  dead,  and  Erickson's  body  was  let  into  the 
river,  and  was  carried  away  from  our  eyes  by  the  stream. 
Three  shots  were  fired  over  his  grave,  and  then  we  went 
back  to  the  hut.  The  weather  was  very  bad,  the  wind  was 
very  strong,  and  the  snow  drifted  fearfully.  We  had  not 
much  to  say  one  to  the  other. 

The  captain  told  me  to  go  out  and  see  how  the  weather 
was.  I  went  out,  but  the  weather  was  so  bad  and  the  snow 
drifted  so  strongly  that  I  could  scarcely  see  anything ;  and  I 
said  it  would  be  better  to  wait  till  the  storm  abated,  for  we 
could  not  see  where  we  were  going  if  we  started  out.  I 
thought  the  day  was  just  such  a  day  as  the  one  in  which  we 
buried  Captain  Hall.  The  captain  then  said, <  We  will  wait 
till  to-morrow.'  That  evening  we  ate  our  last  portion  of  dog 
meat.  The  captain  said,  '  This  is  our  last  meat,  but  I  hope 
we  will  soon  have  some  more.'  Then  we  all  laid  down  to 
rest. 

On  the  7th  of  October  when  we  awoke  the  wind  was  pretty 
strong  and  the  snow  was  still  drifting.  We  made  prepara- 
tions to  continue  our  journey.  We  left  in  the  hut  a  repeat- 


NINDERMANN'S  NARRATIVE.  461 

ing  rifle,  some  ammunition,  and  a  record.  We  took  nothing 
with  us  but  the  records  and  papers,  the  captain's  private 
journal,  two  rifles,  and  the  clothes  we  wore.  I  suggested 
that  all  the  papers  should  be  left  there  in  the  hut,  and  that 
when  we  found  people  I  would  go  back  and  fetch  them; 
whereupon  the  captain  answered  : — 

'  Nindermann,  the  papers  go  with  me  as  long  as  I  live/ 

When  we  left  the  hut  we  made  a  short  cut  across  a  sand- 
pit, about  southeast,  then  struck  a  river,  went  along  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river  for  some  distance  to  the  south,  then, 
as  the  river  took  a  turn,  we  had  to  go  southeast  again,  then 
struck  another  small  river  where  there  was  no  water  at  all, 
going  south  for  a  short  time,  then  going  to  the  east  for  a 
short  distance,  when  we  struck  the  Lena,  as  the  captain  sup- 
posed it  to  be  at  the  time.  That  is  the  river  he  was  found 
on.  The  captain  said,  i  Nindermann,  do  you  think  the  ice  is 
strong  enough  to  bear  us  ? '  I  said,  '  I  will  try  it.'  I  went 
a  short  way  on  the  river  when  I  broke  through,  but  was  not 
very  wet.  When  I  looked  around  me  I  saw  the  captain 
quite  near  to  me,  and  he  had  broken  through  up  to  his 
shoulders.  I  helped  him  out  and  we  went  back  to  the  bank, 
made  a  fire,  and  dried  our  things.  It  was  then  midday,  and 
we  made  some  alcohol  and  warm  water  to  drink." 

On  Sunday,  October  9th,  after  divine  service,  Captain  De 
Long  sent  Nindermann  and  Noros  southward,  repeating  the 
instructions  to  Nindermann  that  he  had  given  him  the  day 
before  Erickson's  death.  He  also  gave  him  a  copy  of  his 
email  chart  of  the  Lena  River,  and  said : — 

'That  is  all  I  can  give  you  on  your  journey;  information 
about  the  land  or  the  river  I  cannot  give  you,  for  you  know 
as  much  as  I  do  myself.  But  go  southward  with  Noros,  who 
is  under  your  command,  until  you  reach  Kurnak  Surka,  and 
if  you  should  not  find  any  one  there,  then  go  on  to  Ajakit, 
which  is  forty-five  miles  southward  from  Kumak  Surka,  and 
should  you  fail  to  find  people  there,  then  go  on  to  Bulun, 
which  is  twenty-five  miles  southward  from  Ajakit,  and  if 
there  are  no  people  there,  go  southward  until  you  do  find 


452  THE  JEANNETTB  ARCTIC  EXPEDITION. 

people.  But  I  think  you  will  find  people  at  Kumak  Surka. 
If  you  should  shoot  reindeer  not  farther  away  than  one  or 
two  days'  journey  from  us,  come  back  and  let  us  know.' 

He  gave  me,  says  Nindermann,  orders  not  to  leave  the 
western  bank  of  the  stream,  because,  he  said,  on  the  eastern 
bank  I  should  find  neither  people  nor  drift-wood.  He  told 
me  that  he  could  not  give  me  any  written  instructions,  be- 
cause if  lie  did  the  people  would  not  be  able  to  read  them, 
but  I  should  do  the  best  I  could,  and  use  my  own  judgment. 
He  gave  me  strict  orders  that  we  should  not  wade  through 
the  water.  He  then  said  adieu  to  us,  and  that  as  soon  as  he 
was  ready  he  would  follow  in  our  footsteps  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  Then  all  gave  us  three  cheers,  and  my  comrade 
and  I  left  them.  They  were  all  in  good  hopes  that  we  would 
be  able  soon  to  bring  back  assistance.  My  hopes,  however, 
were  not  so  bright,  for  I  knew  that  it  was  very  late  in  the 
fall  and  that  in  all  probability  the  people  had  gone  away  to 
the  south." 

"We  did  not  follow  the  river  round,  says  Noros,  but 
took  a  straight  cut  across  the  land.  The  mountains  were 
ahead  of  us,  and  we  knew  that  the  river  ran  near  them.  Ifc 
was  an  island  we  were  on.  There  was  a  river  on  the  other 
side  of  it.  Nindermann  and  I  reached  the  river  and  walked 
along  it  about  five  or  six  miles.  We  stopped  before  noon 
and  had  a  little  alcohol.  After  that  we  walked  on  till  wo 
came  to  a  little  canoe  on  the  top  of  the  bluff,  and  perched  on 
the  canoe  we  saw  a  ptarmigan.  Nindermann  shot  at  it  with 
his  rifle,  and  though  he  took  out  some  tail  feathers,  the  bird 
got  away.  We  went  down  to  the  beach,  where  it  was  easier 
walking  than  on  the  bluff.  We  walked  there  about  a  mile, 
when  we  again  took  to  the  bluff,  principally  to  look  around 
us  and  to  see  if  we  could  see  any  game. 

Nindermann  happened  to  get  up  on  the  bluff  first,  and 
exclaimed, '  They  are  deer — give  me  the  gun.'  We  could 
see  them ;  they  were  not  more  than  half  a  mile  away,  but 
partly  to  the  windward.  So  Nindermann  took  off  his  heavy 
clothes  and  lightened  himself  up,  and  then  crawled  along  in 


THREE  RANDOM    SHOTS.  458 

the  snow.  I  gave  him  the  cartridges  and  said,  <  Nindermann, 
make  sure  of  your  game  ;  that  may  be  the  saving  of  the 
whole  of  us/  He  said, '  I  will  do  my  best.'  I  was  almost 
smoke-blind  at  the  time  and  could  not  see  very  well,  but  1 
watched  his  movements  very  eagerly.  I  could  make  out  his 
progress,  and  saw  him  crawling  slowly  up.  There  were  sev- 
eral deer,  perhaps  a  dozen;  two  or  three  were  grazing  and 
keeping  the  lookout  and  the  others  were  resting  on  the 
ground.  Nindermann  got  to  within  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  of  them,  when  one  of  them  caught  sight  or  wind  of 
him  and  gave  the  alarm  to  the  rest.  I  saw  Nindermann 
start  up,  and,  seeing  the  deer  making  off,  he  fired  three  shots 
at  them,  hoping  to  bring  down  one  with  a  chance  shot.  But 
he  missed.  They  all  escaped.  Nindermann  came  back 
much  disheartened.  4 1  could  not  help  it,'  he  said ;  1 1  could 
not  do  any  better.'  So  we  had  to  put  up  with  it. 

Then  we  started  off  again,  and  made  another  pretty  good 
stretch  till  we  felt  exhausted  and  determined  to  seek  shelter 
for  the  night.  The  best  place  we  could  find  was  beneath  the 
high  bluff,  at  a  place  where  the  earth  had  fallen  away,  and 
here  we  built  a  fire,  had  our  alcohol,  and  there  spent  the 
night.  We  did  not  sleep  much,  it  was  so  cold,  and  most  of 
our  time  was  occupied  in  keeping  up  the  fire."  (This  camp- 
ing-place was  near  the  place  where  Captain  Be  Long  later 
built  his  last  signal  fire — perhaps  a  mile  from  the  deserted 
raft.) 

Next  morning  the  two  men  started  out  again,  believing 
they  were  on  the  south  end  of  Tit  Ary  Island.  The  point 
which  they  were  passing  was,  however,  the  bluff  north  of 
Stalboy.  *At  their  feet  the  wide  Bykoff  arm  of  the  Lena 
flowed  eastward,  and  was  full  of  floating  ice.  A  gale  from 
the  southeast  soon  came  on. 

"We  had  to  go,  says  Noros,  whichever  way  the  wind 
blew  us,  and  so  we  got  away  to  the  northwestward  some- 
where. Anyhow  that  day's  travel  took  us  out  of  our  course 
so  far  that  it  took  us  nearly  two  days  to  get  back  again  to  a 
point  opposite  to  the  bluff  on  which  we  were  when  the  gale 


454  THE  JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

commenced.  We  pushed  on  in  spite  of  the  wind  and  the 
drifting  snow  and  sand.  That  night  we  could  not  find  any 
shelter  on  the  banks,  and  so  we  dug  a  hole  in  the  drift  for  a 
shelter.  This  took  us  three  or  four  hours  to  do,  as  we  had 
nothing  to  work  with  except  our  hands  and  sheath  knives; 
but  at  last  we  managed  to  dig  a  hole  large  enough  for  the 
two  of  us  to  creep  into.  After  we  had  got  in  the  hole  the 
wind  drifted  the  snow  upon  us  and  soon  filled  the  entrance 
of  our  little  place,  and  next  morning  we  had  to  work  a  long 
time  before  we  could  get  out  of  the  drift  again.  We  got  up 
and  started  out ;  we  did  not  use  any  of  our  alcohol  to  speak 
of — we  were  saving  it  up  as  much  as  we  could." 

On  the  llth,  toward  night,  after  a  hard  day's  tramp,  they 
came  to  a  small  hut  on  the  bank,  and  passed  the  night  in  it* 
It  had  a  raised  fire-place  in  the  center,  and  they  started  a 
fire  and  kept  it  going  by  burning  up  the  benches  built  around 
the  room. 

"We  hated,  says  Noros,  to  leave  the  first  shelter  we 
had  found  since  leaving  the  captain,  but  we  went  down  to 
the  river  and  started  on.  We  had  to  face  the  wind  from 
the  southward,  and  we  could  hardly  make  any  progress 
against  it.  We  would  have  to  stop  once  in  a  little  while, 
unable  to  move  a  step  further.  We  began  to  give  it  up  in 
despair.  At  times  we  felt  like  going  back  to  the  hut,  to 
wait  there  until  death  relieved  us  from  our  sufferings." 

They  walked  slowly  on,  and  after  a  while  saw  some  moun- 
tains ahead,  and  they  thought  they  saw  a  hut  close  by,  buft 
were  not  quite  sure.  There  was  water  between  them  and 
the  hut,  and  this  they  had  to  wade  through  up  to  their 
knees.  They  got  across,  and  then  found  it  was  really  a 
shelter-place,  a  little  tentAlike  hut,  built  of  sticks,  and  plas- 
tered outside  with  mud  to  keep  out  the  wind.  It  was  Mot 
Vai.  Noros  thought  Nindermann  had  followed  him,  but 
instead  of  that  he  had  gone  a  mile  further  off,  and  had 
found  another  hut.  There  they  saw  two  crosses,  which 
marked  the  graves  of  natives.  They  stayed  here  a  day  and 
a  half,  and  ate  some  refuse  eelskins  and  fish  heads  which 


THE   HUTS   OP   BOLCOUR.  466 

they  found  there.  It  was  poor  food,  but  gave  them  some 
strength.  They  supposed  they  had  arrived  at  Kumak 
Surka. 

On  the  14th  they  again  started  out,  but  the  wind  blew 
hard  and  they  did  not  make  much  progress  that  day.  At 
night  they  found  shelter  in  a  curious  opening  in  the  bank, 
two  feet  and  a  half  broad,  six  feet  high,  and  about  fifteen 
yards  in  extent.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  kind  of  cave  funnel,  the 
other  opening  being  on  the  top  of  the  bank. 

Next  day,  the  16th,  they  had  breakfast  of  willow  tea  and 
portions  of  sealskin  pantaloons,  and  then  started  out  again. 
They  crossed  numerous  sand  banks  and  small  streams 
frozen  over,  and  toward  evening  struck  the  Lena  proper, 
close  to  the  high  mountains  on  the  western  bank.  That 
day,  thinking  they  might  find  game  on  the  other  shore,  they 
crossed  over  to  the  mountainous  eastern  bank  of  the  Lena, 
where  they  spent  a  most  wretched  night  in  a  ravine  in  a 
mountain  side.  They  then  crossed  over  to  the  western 
shore  of  the  Lena  again.  They  began  to  congratulate  them- 
selves that  the  streams  were  at  last  all  frozen  over  and 
wading  was  now  unnecessary.  That  night  they  had  to 
camp  under  the  shelter  of  a  high  bank,  but,  failing  to  find 
wood,  they  had  neither  supper  nor  shelter,  and  spent  another 
wretched  night. 

Next  morning,  the  19th,  they  started  out  again  after  a 
meal  of  willow  tea  and  sealskin,  going  south  along  the  Lena. 
They  made  nearly  no  progress  at  all,  and  every  five  minutes 
had  to  lie  down  to  rest  on  the  ice.  Toward  night  Noros 
was  walking  on  the  edge  of  the  river  about  half  a  mile  ahead 
of  Nindermann,  and  on  turning  a  point  of  land  he  saw  a 
square  hut  perched  in  a  gully  between  two  high  mountains 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  river;  on  going  toward  it  he  saw 
two  other  huts — tent-like  structures  of  wood  and  plastered 
outside  with  mud.  These  were  the  huts  of  Bulcour. 

After  staying  at  Bulcour  two  or  three  days,  living  on 
some  blue  moulded  fish  which  they  found  there,  they  decided 
to  start  again  on  the  next  day,  22d ;  but  on  that  morning, 


456  THE   JE ANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

although  they  had  felt  strong  enough  when  sitting  or  lying 
down,  they  felt  hopelessly  weak  when  they  stood  up  and 
attempted  to  walk,  and  therefore  decided  to  rest  there 
another  day. 

This  delay  proved  fortunate  for  them.  They  were  cook- 
ing their  dinner  when  they  heard  a  noise  outside  the  door 
that '  sounded  like  a  flock  of  geese  sweeping  by/  Ninder- 
mann,  who  could  see  through  the  chinks  of  the  door,  said, 
4  They  are  deer.'  He  picked  up  his  gun  and  was  creeping 
up  near  the  door,  when  it  was  suddenly  opened,  and  a  native 
stood  before  them.  He  was  a  Tunguse ;  and  seeing  the  gun 
in  Nindermann's  hands,  he  dropped  on  his  knees,  and 
pleaded,  apparently,  for  his  life.  Nindermann  threw  down 
his  gun  and  made  signs  to  assure  him  that  he  would  not  be 
harmed ;  and  finally  he  fastened  a  deer-team,  with  which  he 
had  driven  up,  and  came  inside. 

"He  began  to  talk,  says  Noros,  but  we  could  not  under- 
stand what  he  was  saying.  We  tried  to  explain  to  him 
that  we  wanted  to  go  to  Bulun.  We  were  so  glad  when 
we  saw  him  that  we  could  have  hugged  him,  for  we  knew 
then  that  we  were  pretty  nearly  all  right.  We  tried  to 
explain  to  him  that  there  were  others  of  our  party  away  to 
the  north,  but  he  could  not  understand  us.  He  examined 
Nindermann's  clothes  and  then  brought  in  a  deer-skin,  and 
then  a  pair  of  deer-skin  boots,  and  made  gestures  as  if  to 
say  that  he  would  go  away,  but  would  soon  return.  He 
held  up  three  fingers,  and  we  thought  he  meant  three  days.'* 

Nindermann  was  for  keeping  him,  but  Noros  advised  that 
he  should  be  permitted  to  do  as  he  thought  best.  On  follow- 
ing him  out  of  the  hut  they  saw  four  deer;  they  afterward 
learned  that  he  had  brought  the  two  extra  animals  to  put 
in  a  sled  which  he  had  left  there  some  days  previously,  but 
which  had  been  used  by  them  for  fire-wood. 

After  seeing  the  native  drive  away  down  the  gully  they 
went  inside  the  hut  to  await  events.  As  darkness  came  ou 
they  began  to  fear  that  he  did  not  intend  to  come  back. 
4i  We  thought  we  had  done  wrong  in  letting  him  go,  says 


AMONG   FRIENDS.  457 

Nindermann.  Night  came  on  and  we  had  got  a  little 
under  way  with  our  soup,  when  we  heard  sleds  drive  up, 
and  saw  our  Tunguse  coming  with  two  other  natives  and 
five  reindeer  teams.  The  original  Tunguse  came  rushing 
into  the  hut,  bringing  some  frozen  fish,  deer-skin  coats  and 
boots.  We  went  for  the  fish.  He  picked  up  all  our  things 
and  put  them  on  the  sleds.  We  put  on  the  coats  and  the 
boots  and  soon  started  off.  This  was  about  midnight.  We 
were  driven  about  fifteen  miles,  when  we  came  to  two  large 
tents  and  many  sleds,  the  deer  not  being  in  sight.  The 
natives  took  us  and  washed  our  faces  and  hands  and  got  us 
looking  a  little  decent  again.  They  had  a  big  kettle  of  deer 
meat  on  the  fire,  and  we  were  motioned  to  help  ourselves  at 
once.  After  that  they  made  us  some  tea,  and  then  spread 
deer-skins  for  us  to  sleep  on.  This  was  our  first  comfort- 
able night  since  we  left  the  captain." 

The  native  had  brought  them  to  a  camp  of  traveling  Tun- 
guses,  who  were  on  their  way  to  Kumak  Surka  from  a  tem- 
porary settlement  where  they  had  been  staying  a  little 
further  to  the  north.  In  the  caravan  were  seven  men  and 
three  women,  and  seventy-five  head  of  deer  dragging  thirty 
sleds.  With  this  caravan  Nindermann  and  Noros  traveled 
two  days,  and  arrived  at  Kumak  Surka  on  the  24th  of  Octo- 
ber. Here  the  two  men  were  well  taken  care  of,  Noros  at 
one  hut  and  Nindermann  at  another. 

They  arrived  at  Kumak  Surka  during  the  evening,  and 
amid  the  preparation  of  meals  for  a  house  full  of  people  and 
the  arrangement  of  bunks  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
guests,  there  was  no  opportunity  that  night  to  engage  atten- 
tion to  the  subject  of  their  errand.  The  next  day,  however, 
Nindermann  had  the  field  to  himself  after  the  morning  meal 
had  been  discussed.  Some  one  brought  him  the  model  of  a 
Yakut  boat,  which  they  called  a  4  parahut,'  and  asked  if  his 
4parahut'  was  like  that.  Then,  with  sticks  to  represent 
masts  and  spars,  he  showed  them  that  it  was  bark  rigged 
and  moved  by  steam  power  also.  All  this  they  seemed  to 
understand  perfectly,  and  then  asked  how  and  where  they 
lost  the  ship. 


458  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

Pointing  toward  the  north  he  made  them  understand  it 
was  very  far  in  that  direction,  and,  with  two  pieces  of  ice, 
showed  them  how  the  ship  was  crushed  and  sank  down  into 
the  sea.  Afterward  he  cut  the  models  of  three  small  boats, 
and  put  sticks  in  them  to  represent  the  men  in  each  boat, 
and  told  them,  as  well  as  he  could,  how,  with  sleds  and  dogs 
and  boats,  they  had  crossed  great  seas  of  broken  ice  and 
open  water,  and  finally  reached  the  shore  of  their  country. 
He  then  got  a  piece  of  paper  and  drew  the  coast  line  and 
sketched  the  boat,  illustrating  the  manner  in  which  the 
landing  was  effected.  Drawing  in  the  river  from  the  coast 
line  to  the  south,  he  showed  that  they  walked  down  the 
east  bank  of  the  river,  and  marked  the  places  where  they 
found  huts  or  encamped.  He  indicated  the  number  of  days 
they  had  been  walking  by  putting  his  head  down  and  clos- 
ing his  eyes  as  if  to  sleep  and  counting  the  number  of  sleeps 
with  his  fingers.  He  told  them  as  plainly  as  he  could  lhat 
the  captain,  or  'kapitan/  as  they  called  it,  had  sent  him  to 
get  clothes  and  food  and  reindeer,  to  fetch  them  to  the  set- 
tlement, as  they  were  very  weak,  and  in  a  starving  condi- 
tion. He  told  them  he  had  left  the  party  sixteen  days  ago, 
and  that  two  days  before  his  departure  they  had  had  nothing 
to  eat.  He  used  every  effort  to  convey  his  meaning  to  the 
savages  who  had  befriended  him,  and  induce  them  to  go  to 
the  succor  of  the  captain  and  his  party,  but  was  not  success- 
ful. Sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  they  understood  him  per- 
fectly, and  at  others  he  felt  convinced  that  they  had  not 
understood  a  single  thing  he  had  told  them.  During  tho 
entire  day  he  kept  talking  to  them  by  signs  and  illustrations 
upon  paper,  but  without  avail. 

The  next  day  he  renewed  his  efforts  and  resorted  to  every 
expedient  to  make  them  understand  him.  He  did  not  ask 
them  only  to  go  alone,  but  wanted  them  to  go  with  him. 
They  would  sigh  and  look  distressed  when  he  described  the 
sufferings  and  condition  of  the  party  on  the  Delta,  but  when 
he  urged  that  assistance  should  be  sent  to  them  the  faces  of 
his  hearers  were  totally  devoid  of  expression.  He  then 


ABBIVAL   OP   THE   EXILE.  459 

thought  of  his  companions  as  dead  or  dying,  looking  to  his 
return  as  their  only  hope  for  deliverance.  Weakened  by 
fatigue,  exposure,  and  famine,  and  feeling  how  utterly  pow- 
erless he  was  when  so  much  depended  on  him,  this  terrible 
strain  was  too  much  for  him,  and  this  strong,  brave  man, 
who  had  faced  death  and  endured  untold  hardships  without 
a  quiver,  sank  into  a  corner  and  cried  like  a  child.  An  old 
woman,  the  wife  of  the  master  of  the  hut,  saw  him  and  took 
compassion  on  him,  and  a  long  conference  was  held  by  the 
natives  which  resulted  in  their  endeavoring  to  comfort  him. 
Reaching  a  hand  tenderly  upon  his  shoulder  they  told  him 
he  should  go  to  Bulun  the  next  day.  He  had  asked  to  be 
taken  there,  hoping  to  find  some  one  by  whom  he  could 
make  himself  understood,  and  it  was  to  his  anxiety  to  reach 
that  town  that  they  attributed  his  grief. 

The  next  day  he  again  asked  them  to  take  him  to  Bulun 
to  see  the  commandant,  and  they  told  him  they  had  already 
sent  for  the  commandant,  and  were  expecting  him.  During 
the  evening  the  Russian  exile,  Kusmah,  came  to  the  hut, 
and  Nindermann  asked  him  if  he  was  the  commandant  of 
Bulun.  To  this  he  answered  'Yes/  or  at  least  Nindermann 
so  understood  him.  Then  Kusmah  asked,  "  Parakod  Jean- 
nette?"  and  Nindermann  replied,  'Yes.'  He  then  told,  as 
well  as  he  could,  the  whole  story  of  the  loss  of  the  Jeannette 
and  the  history  of  the  retreat,  illustrating  by  his  little  chart 
and  by  sketches. 

Nindermann  soon  felt  convinced  that  Kusmah  did  not 
understand  either  the  chart  or  his  description.  Then  he 
told  him  that  on  the  journey  on  land  one  man  had  died  and 
that  there  were  eleven  alive.  While  he  was  telling  him  this 
portion  of  the  story  Kusmah  kept  assenting,  and  seemed  to 
understand  perfectly.  He  would  keep  saying,  <  kapitan,  yes. 
Two  kapitan,  first  kapitan,  second  kapitan/  alluding  to 
Melville  and  Danenhower.  Nindermann  then  understood 
him  to  say  he  couldn't  do  anything  until  either  one  or  the 
other  of  them  had  telegraphed  to  St.  Petersburg  for  instruc- 
tions. Therefore  Nindermann  wrote  a  telegram  addressed 


460  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

to  the  American  Minister  in  St.  Petersburg,  telling  him  the 
exact  condition  of  affairs,  and  that  the  captain's  party  was 
starving  and  in  need  of  food  and  clothing;  and  while  talk- 
ing, before  the  despatch  was  quite  finished,  Kusmah  took  it. 
Three  days  afterward  Kusmah  handed  the  despatch  to  Mel- 
ville at  Gecmovialocke. 

From  Knmak  Surka  the  two  men  were  sent  to  Bulun, 
100  versts  further  south,  where  they  arrived  October  29th. 
As  soon  as  the  commandant  learned  of  their  arrival  he  sent 
for  them  and  gave  them  quarters  for  the  day.  The  next 
day  they  were  transferred  to  the  house  of  the  priest's  assist/ 
ant,  but  this  gentleman  did  not  appear  to  know  the  virtues 
of  hospitality  to  shipwrecked  men.  After  two  days  he  sent 
them  to  the  hut  of  a  native,  who  also  did  not  provide  well 
for  the  guests. 

Mr.  Melville  describes  his  meeting  with  Nindermann  and 
Noros  as  follows : — 

"Arriving  at  Bulun,  on  the  2d  of  November,  I  found  Nin- 
dermann and  Noros  of  the  captain's  party.  They  were  in 
the  stansea,  the  common  reception  place  for  traveling 
natives,  and  terribly  broken  down.  They  were  suffering 
from  diarrhoea,  and  were  feverish.  They  were  totally  un- 
manned, and  burst  out  crying  when  they  tried  to  tell  me  of 
their  companions  and  of  their  own  escape.  Gradually  I  got 
from  them  as  clear  an  account  of  their  march  as  they  could 
give,  and  a  description  of  the  place  where  they  had  left  the 
captain's  party.  They  complained  to  me  that  they  did  not 
get  the  proper  kind  of  food,  that  after  the  commandant  left 
they  had  been  fed  on  stale  fish  that  was  not  fit  for  any  man 
to  eat,  and  had  no  meat.  A  fire  had  been  built  in  their 
place  only  twice  a  day,  morning  and  night,  and  they  had 
consequently  suffered  much  from  the  cold. 

I  failed  to  find  anybody  in  authority  in  the  village;  but 
Nindermann  and  Noros  having  made  the  acquaintance  of 
the  priest's  assistant — the'Malinki  pope,'  as  he  was  styled— 
I  visited  him,  and  gave  him  to  understand  that  the  people 
must  tie  better  taken  care  of.  He  said  he  could  do  nothing, 


MELVILLE   AND   THE   "  MALINKI   POPE."  461 

as  he  had  no  authority.  I  told  him  that  there  were  two  or 
three  empty  houses  in  the  village,  and  that  on  the  following 
day  he  must  see  that  the  two  men  had  proper  accommoda- 
tion. That  night  I  slept  in  the  hole  with  the  two  men. 

Next  morning  the  man  came,  and,  feeling  that  he  had 
overstepped  his  authority,  did  not  want  me  to  have  a  house ; 
but,  finding  where  a  good  empty  house  was,  I  told  him  that 
as  there  was  no  authority  in  the  village  I  would  take  the 
authority  upon  myself.  So  I  inspected  the  vacant  huts, 
selected  the  best,  notwithstanding  the  protests  of  two  or 
three  people  who  had  gathered  around — the  <  Malinki  pope/ 
in  particular — told  the  men  to  come,  built  a  fire,  and  then 
took  possession  of  the  new  quarters.  I  told  the  <  Malinki 
pope,'  further,  that  I  must  have  reindeer  meat  for  the  men, 
and  that  they  must  have  as  much  bread  as  they  could  eat. 
I  informed  him,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  was  an  officer  of 
the  United  States — that  the  governor  commanding  the  dis- 
trict, General  Tchernieff,  would  not  allow  an  American, 
cast  on  the  Siberian  shores,  to  be  abused.  This  appeared 
to  bring  him  and  the  rest  of  the  Russians  and  natives  to 
their  senses.  They  immediately  got  me  a  bag  of  meal,  a 
quarter  of  a  reindeer,  the  pope  himself  sending  a  live  rein- 
deer, candles,  sugar  and  tea  for  the  use  of  the  two  men. 
Both  of  them  believed  that  their  companions  had  long  since 
been  dead  when  they  themselves  were  found. " 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

ENGINEER  MELVILLE'S  NARRATIVE— CONTINUED. 
(THE  VOYAGE  FROM  SEMENOFFSKY  AND  SEARCH  FOR  DE  LONG.) 

MR.  MELVILLE  describes  the  voyage  from  Semenoff sky 
Island  and  separation  of  the  boats  as  follows : — 

"  We  remained  at  Semenoffsky  Island  over  Sunday,  and  on 
Monday  morning  all  three  boats  were  launched.  We  had 
filled  everything  we  could  with  snow  to  be  melted  for  water. 
We  made  a  good  run  along  the  island  until  noon,  and  had 
our  dinner  on  the  edge  of  the  floe,  with  clear  water  to  the 
southward. 

Previous  to  this  there  had  been  some  discussion  as  to  the 
best  point  to  land  upon  on  the  Siberian  coast.  Captain  De 
Long  asked  the  opinions  of  all  the  officers.  Lieutenant 
Chipp  was  very  decided  that  we  should  make  for  Cape 
Barkin,  as  once  in  its  vicinity  the  boats  could  not  mistake 
the  coast,  running  as  it  does  to  the  west  or  to  the  south  in 
a  direct  coast  line.  When  my  opinion  was  asked,  I  urged 
that  if  an  attempt  was  made  to  enter  the  Lena  at  all,  it 
should  be  done  by  way  of  the  eastern  mouth ;  and  I  called 
to  mind  the  fact  that  the  captain  of  the  'Lena'  had  been 
unable  to  effect  an  entrance  by  any  of  the  northern  mouths, 
but  had  eventually  entered  the  river  by  the  eastern  mouth. 
I  also  suggested  that  the  mouths  of  the  Yana  or  the  Indi- 
girka  would  be  better  places  for  landing,  offering  at  least 
no  perplexity  of  entrances.  Captain  De  Long  listened  to 
both  of  us,  and  then  decided  the  matter  in  his  quiet  manner 
by  saying: — 

<  Mr.  Melville,  I  think  Mr.  Chipp  is  right.  We  will  make 
for  Barkin,  and  then  for  the  Light  Tower  and  Sagaster,  and 
the  northern  mouth  of  the  Lena.' 

(462) 


THE   VOYAGE   PROM    8EMENOFFSKI.  463 

Before  leaving  the  floe,  Mr.  Chipp  reported  to  the  captain 
that  his  boat  was  very  heavy,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  keep  up  with  us.  For  this  reason  Captain  De  Long 
determined  to  relieve  him  of  two  men — he  had  then  ten — 
and  put  one  in  the  whale-boat  and  one  in  his  own,  the  first 
cutter,  leaving  Mr.  Chipp  then  with  eight  men  all  told — six 
men  and  two  officers.  These  two  men  were  Ah  Sam,  the 
Chinese  cook,  and  Mansen,  seaman,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
given  to  the  whale-boat.  Up  to  this  time  Mr.  Chipp  had 
been  relieved  of  carrying  his  pemmican.  When  we  were  at 
the  edge  of  the  floe,  before  starting  out  to  sea,  he  was  known 
to  have  but  half  a  can  of  pemmican,  but  whether  he  received 
his  pro  rota  of  pemmican  afterward  none  of  us  know.  He 
did  not  get  it  when  we  were  there. 

The  three  boats  left  Seminoffsky  in  company  and  contin- 
ued together  until  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the 
wind  increasing  from  a  fresh  breeze  to  a  full  gale,  the  first 
cutter  and  the  whale-boat  running  with  close  reefed  sails. 
The  second  cutter  being  a  duller  sailer  than  either  of  the 
other  two,  I  do  not  know  whether  she  had  reefed  sails  or 
not. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  gale  was  blowing  very 
hard,  and  the  boats  were  taking  in  so  much  water  that  it 
was  absolutely  necessary  that  each  boat  should  take  care  of 
herself.  The  whale-boat  was  a  hundred  yards  to  the  wind- 
ward of  the  first  cutter,  and  probably  a  hundred  yards  in 
advance,  when  I  heard  the  captain  or  some  of  his  people 
hailing,  and  then  saw  a  signal.  I  looked  round  and  saw 
Captain  De  Long  waving  his  arm.  Not  knowing  whether  he 
wanted  me  to  go  on  or  to  come  down  to  him,  I  gybed  the 
sail  and  ran  the  boat  down  to  within  hailing-distance,  when 
he  waved  the  whale-boat  off,  shaking  his  head  and  arm, 
making  a  signal  for  the  second  cutter,  and  I  supposed  he 
wanted  to  give  Chipp  his  share  of  pemmican.  Nindermann 
informs  me  that  the  captain  only  wanted  to  tell  the  boats  to 
keep  together ;  that  there  was  no  pemmican  passed  from  the 
first  to  the  second  cutter ;  and  that  the  sea  was  so  heavy 


464  THE  JEANNETTB   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

that  the  second  cutter  never  came  within  hailing-distance  of 
the  captain's  boat. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  Chipp  never  reached  land,  but  that 
he  was  swamped  during  the  gale.  The  second  cutter  was 
about  the  shape  of  a  dry  goods  box.  She  was  short  and 
deep,  and  although  flying  the  lightest  of  all  three  boats,  she 
was  bad  to  steer,  and,  as  Mr.  Chipp  once  said, '  eternally  fly- 
ing up  in  the  wind.'  Being  short,  if  she  was  hove  to,  as  she 
would  undoubtedly  have  to  be,  as  the  others  were,  she  would 
not  lie  as  well." 

The  following  is  Mr.  Melville's  narrative  of  his  search  for 
Lieutenant  De  Long  in  November  1881 : — 

"  At  Burulak  I  secured  two  teams  of  dogs  driven  by 
Wassili  Koolgiak  and  Tomat  Constantine — the  latter  being 
one  of  the  natives  who  had  rescued  Nindermann  and  Noros 
at  Bulcour.  I  made  Baishoff  understand  that  all  expenses 
would  be  paid ;  that  I  had  no  money,  but  my  government 
and  the  Russian  authorities  would  sanction  everything  I 
said  or  did.  1  told  them  I  wanted  ten  days'  food  for  myself, 
drivers  and  dogs.  I  had  with  me  then  a  description  I  had 
taken  down  from  the  narratives  of  Noros  and  Nindermann 
of  the  whereabouts  of  Captain  De  Long  and  his  party  when 
they  had  left  to  come  in  advance  for  assistance.  I  got 
away  that  afternoon,  and  that  night  slept  at  Kumak  Surka. 

Next  day  I  traveled  fifty  versts,  and  slept  in  one  of  the 
huts  of  Bulcour — the  place  where  Nindermann  and  Noros 
had  been  found  by  the  natives.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
my  search,  following  the  river  to  the  northward.  During 
the  night  a  snow  storm  arose  and  the  natives  would  not 
move.  I  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  frozen  condition 
of  my  feet  and  limbs,  so  that  I  had  to  trust  to  the  natives 
for  my  safety,  and  thought  it  best  to  wait  until  the  gale 
was  over.  I  was  detained  one  day  and  the  second  night. 
Next  morning  it  was  calm  enough,  and  I  set  out  again. 
From  Bulcour  to  the  hut  of  Mot  Vai  is  about  130  versts. 
The  drivers  told  me  it  would  be  necessary  to  camp  in  the 
snow  after  going  half  the  distance,  and  that  if  we  were 


MELVILLE'S  NOVEMBER  SEARCH.  465 

caught  in  bad  weather  it  would  be  bad  not  only  for  them 
and  their  dogs,  but  for  me,  already  so  feeble. 

We  started  out  and  visited  a  small  hut  twenty  versts 
north  of  Bulcour,  where  Noros  and  Nindermann  had  stayed. 
I  found  evidence  of  their  having  been  there  where  they 
had  eaten  their  boots  and  burned  the  sleds.  We  camped 
on  the  snow  that  night.  Next  day  we  traveled  as  far  as 
the  place  that  Noros  and  Nindermann  had  designated  as  the 
two  crosses.  I  searched  the  huts  and  saw  evidences  of 
their  having  been  there,  and  by  midnight  arrived  at  the  hut 
of  Mot  Vai,  where  we  slept.  In  the  morning,  when  getting 
ready  to  start  out,  I  found  a  strange  waist-belt,  which  upon 
examination  I  knew  had  been  made  on  board  the  Jeannette. 
I  thought  I  had  struck  the  first  evidences  of  some  of  De 
Long's  party.  Neither  Noros  nor  Nindermann,  in  their 
description  of  their  journey,  made  any  mention  of  Mot  Vai, 
and  they  had  forgotten  all  about  the  place  until  they  after- 
ward visited  the  hut  and  recognized  it  as  one  of  their  halt- 
ing places. 

Very  much  to  my  surprise,  I  was  then  told  by  the  dog 
drivers  that  they  had  no  more  provisions,  either  for  dogs  or 
men — and  this  was  only  the  fifth  day  out.  I  then  inquired 
of  them  how  far  it  was  to  the  nearest  village.  They  told 
me  North  Bulun  was  about  120  versts  distant,  northwest. 
I  gave  orders  to  the  drivers  to  take  me  'there,  in  order  to 
get  a  fresh  supply  of  food.  I  stopped  and  slept  at  Khaskata, 
and  visited  a  number  of  huts  on  the  way  north. 

The  next  night,  about  midnight,  I  arrived  at  North 
Bulun.  On  my  arrival  there  I  found  a  considerable  village 
of  nearly  100  inhabitants.  During  the  first  half  hour  a 
man  came  in  to  give  me  a  paper.  He  made  me  understand 
he  had  found  it  in  a  hut  fifty  versts  to  the  eastward  of 
North  Bulun.  I  read  it  and  saw  it  was  one  of  De  Long's 
records.  Next  morning  natives  brought  me  a  gun  and  two 
other  records,  the  most  important  of  which  was  very  nearly 
being  lost,  as  a  woman  had  carried  it  in  her  bosom  until 
28 


466  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

the  lettering  had  become  almost  obliterated  and  had  then 
thrown  it  away,  and  there  had  been  some  difficulty  in  find- 
ing it  again.  By  these  three  records  I  learned  where  Lieu- 
tenant De  Long  had  been,  and  of  his  course  to  the  southward. 
I  then  went  to  look  up  the  natives  who  had  found  the 
records,  and  told  them  they  must  take  me  to  the  most 
northerly  hut,  where  one  of  the  papers  had  been  found. 

Next  morning  I  started  for  Ballock,  the  northermost  hut, 
before  starting  making  the  people  distinctly  understand  that 
1  must  have  twenty  days'  provisions  for  myself,  the  dogs 
and  their  drivers.  As  there  was  nothing  but  frozen  fish,  I 
selected  twenty  good  ones  for  myself,  allowing  myself  one 
a  day,  telling  the  drivers  they  should  get  two  apiece  for 
themselves  per  day  and  sufficient  for  the  dogs,  all  of  which 
they  perfectly  understood.  But  in  loading  the  sleds  they 
put  on  the  twenty  fish  I  had  selected,  put  on  as  few  as  they 
could  for  themselves,  but  none  at  all  for  the  dogs.  I  found 
out  afterward  that  the  people  had  really  no  food  at  all  to 
live  on,  and  had  given  me  all  the  fish  they  could  spare.  Of 
this  I  knew  nothing  at  the  time.  We  arrived  at  Ballock 
that  night. 

Next  morning  at  daylight,  following  the  direction  of  the 
record,  I  followed  the  main  northern  branch  of  the  Lena, 
keeping  the  east  bank  aboard  until  I  reached  the  sea. 
Then  I  hurried,  and  followed  the  coast  for  five  or  six  miles, 
and,  very  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  natives,  sighted  the 
pole  of  the  flagstaff  which  De  Long  had  planted  to  mark 
the  cache.  They  were  very  much  astonished  that  I  should 
tell  them  what  would  be  found  there.  I  found  the  things 
carefully  placed  on  a  groundwork  of  sticks  to  keep  them 
clear  of  the  earth,  and  then  carefully  covered  with  old  sleep- 
ing bags  and  rags  and  bits  of  canvas.  The  wind  had  carried 
away  the  canvas  and  most  of  the  covering,  and  the  cache 
was  covered  with  snow.  I  took  the  things  out  and  loaded 
the  sleds  with  everything  that  I  found,  with  the  exception 
of  one  oar.  The  ice  had  shoved  up  on  the  beach  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  cache.  After  searching  the  beach  for  a 


MELVILLE'S  NOVEMBER  SEARCH.  467 

distance  of  five  or  six  miles,  and  a  mile  or  a  mile  and  a  half 
off  shore  looking  for  the  first  cutter,  darkness  came  on.  It 
commenced  to  blow  hard,  and  so  I  determined  to  carry 
everything  I  had  found  to  Ballock.  On  my  arrival  at  Bal- 
lock  again,  very  much  to  my  astonishment,  the  drivers  told 
me  they  had  but  one  day's  food  for  themselves  and  dogs, 
and  I  was,  perforce,  obliged  to  return  to  North  Bulun  for 
more  provisions,  carrying  the  relics  with  me. 

At  North  Bulun  I  picked  out  everything  of  importance 
and  value,  throwing  out  the  old  sleeping  bags,  clothing, 
boots  and  worthless  objects  I  had  brought  from  the  cache. 
The  day  following  it  blew  very  hard.  After  I  had  made 
arrangements  to  start,  all  the  drivers  but  one  said  it  was 
impossible  to  go  out  in  such  a  wind,  but  I  said  I  would  go 
whether  they  all  went  or  not.  Finally,  all  the  drivers 
agreed  to  start  in  the  gale,  and  we  went  to  the  next  shelter 
hut  southward  of  Ballock.  Thence  I  went  to  Usterda,  the 
place  where  De  Long  had  left  the  last  record  found,  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  was  about  to  cross  the  river  to  the 
west  bank  and  follow  it  until  he  reached  a  settlement. 

After  visiting  Usterda  I  slept  at  a  hut  a  mile  further  to 
the  south,  other  huts  being  filled  with  snow.  I  crossed  the 
river,  as  De  Long  had  done,  and  followed  the  west  bank 
southward,  as  his  record  had  directed.  Noros  and  Ninder- 
mann  having  informed  me  of  the  different  huts  the  captain's 
party  had  stopped  in,  and  of  the  hut  in  which  Erickson 
died,  I  made  the  natives  understand  that  I  must  visit  every 
hut,  old  or  new,  on  the  Lena  between  Usterda  and  Mot  Yai. 
Proceeding  south  about  as  far  as  I  supposed  the  party 
would  travel,  I  came  across  an  old  broken-down  hut  answer- 
ing the  description  of  Erickson's  hut  as  given  me  by  Ninder- 
mann.  I  searched  it  thoroughly,  but  found  no  evidence  of 
the  party  having  been  there.  I  then  proceeded  south,  and 
on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  found  another  hut  in  good 
repair.  I  searched  it  thoroughly,  inside  and  out,  but  found 
no  evidences  of  the  missing  men. 

It  then  came  on  to  blow  very  badly,  and  the  drivers  told 


468  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

me  it  was  necessary  to  seek  the  shelter  of  a  hut.  The 
nearest  to  us  was  Sisteraneck,  where  I  slept  over  night. 
Next  day  it  was  still  blowing  very  hard,  and  the  natives 
were  loath  to  start  out.  As  we  had  a  very  small  amount  of 
provisions  on  hand,  and  the  drivers  told  me  that  the  gales 
sometimes  continued  for  ten  days  at  a  time,  I  urged  them 
to  move  on,  and  they  said  they  would  go  forty  versts  further, 
to  Qu  Vina.  I  searched  the  hut  and  all  its  surroundings,  but 
found  no  evidences  of  the  missing  people. 

By  this  time  I  felt  that  I  was  off  the  track.  I  had  only 
three  or  four  hours  of  light  during  the  day  to  work  in.  I 
could  place  no  dependence  on  the  natives  as  regards  food. 
Although  I  was  unable  to  stand  on  my  feet  from  the  effects 
of  previous  freezing  in  the  whale-boat,  I  was  able,  even  in 
my  semi-disabled  condition,  to  stand  the  cold,  and  desired 
to  continue  the  work ;  but  I  found  the  natives  disinclined 
to  venture  out  in  the  storm.  They  assured  me  that  if  we 
went  out  both  myself  and  they  would  most  certainly  be 
frozen  to  death.  So  I  made  up  my  mind  to  return  to  Bulun. 

The  weather  was  so  bad  that  the  drivers  would  not  leave 
Qu  Yina  that  day,  and  so  I  had  to  wait  there  till  the  follow- 
ing day,  when,  the  weather  being  fine,  I  started  on  the 
return  journey,  intending  to  stop  at  Mot  Vai.  As  the 
weather  continued  fine  I  passed  by  Mot  Vai  without  stop- 
ping, and  camped  in  the  snow  further  on  the  way,  about 
eleven  o'clock  at  night.  Not  having  a  tent  we  dug  a  hole  in 
the  snow,  and  there  lay  down  for  a  sleep.  During  the 
night  a  terrific  storm  arose,  with  dense  snow,  and  contin- 
ued to  rage  for  forty-eight  hours,  during  which  time  I  had 
no  food  except  raw  frozen  fish.  As  soon  as  the  gale  abated 
we  started  for  Bulcour,  eighty  versts  distant,  but  we  did 
not  reach  this  place  till  after  eighteen  hours.  A  gale  had 
arisen,  the  dogs  could  not  work,  but  lay  down  and  whined. 
But  eventually  we  arrived  at  Bulcour  and  the  shelter  of  the 
huts  there. 

On  the  journey  down  the  loads  proved  so  heavy  carrying 
the  things  I  had  collected  that  the  natives  were  obliged  to 


FINDING    OF   THE   FIRST   CUTTER.  469 

walk  all  the  way.  I,  being  unable  to  walk,  was  carried  on 
one  of  the  sleds.  When  within  twenty  versts  of  Bulcour 
the  sleds  broke  down,  first  one  and  then  the  other,  in  the 
dark  night.  The  natives  spent  a  long  time  in  repairing 
their  sleds,  and  it  was  not  till  some  time  near  morning  that 
we  arrived  at  Bulcour.  I  then  thought  it  best  to  leave  the 
greatest  part  of  my  load  at  Bulcour,  to  make  for  Kumak 
Surka  and  then  send  back  for  them.  The  distance  was 
fifty  versts,  which  we  covered  in  fourteen  hours.  On  bad 
roads  next  day  I  arrived  at  Burulak,  and  the  day  following, 
about  midnight,  at  Bulun,  after  being  absent  twenty-three 
days. 

I  found  that  the  '  commandant '  had  made  no  effort  in  the 
search,  but  had  been  somewhere  up  north  in  the  locality 
attending  to  his  own  private  business.  There  was  a  report 
in  the  Russian  newspapers  that  the  Yakutsk  government  or 
somebody  else  Russian  had  sent  the  deputy  ispravnik  or 
some  other  person  to  aid  and  assist  in  the  search.  This 
was  not  so.  There  was  neither  a  doctor  nor  anybody  else 
sent  to  assist  in  the  original  search.  Nobody  accompanied 
me  except  the  two  Yakut  dog  drivers." 

When  Nindermann  was  searching  for  Lieutenant  Chipp 
on  the  northern  coast  of  the  Delta,  in  April  1882,  as  he  ap- 
proached the  place  where  Lieutenant  De  Long  landed  he  drove 
out  on  the  frozen  bay,  and  found  the  first  cutter  imbedded 
in  the  ice  and  buried  in  a  snow-drift.  She  had  filled  with 
water  and  frozen  up  as  high  as  the  rail  both  inside  and  out- 
side. A  few  small  articles  were  brought  away  by  Ninder- 
mann as  relics. 


APPENDIX, 


MELVILLE  AT  HOME. 

The  following  account  of  the  arrival  and  reception  of  Engineer 
Melville  and  his  companions  at  New  York  city  is  copied  and  com- 
piled from  the  New  York  Herald: — 

"The  party  of  relatives,  comrades,  and  friends  of  the  returning 
heroes,  who  had  gone  down  to  Quarantine  to  meet  them  on  the 
Navy  Yard  boat,  the  Catalpa,  spent  Tuesday  afternoon  and  night 
in  waiting,  most  of  them  spending  the  night  at  the  Staten  Island 
hotels.  Arrangements  were  made  for  calling  the  passengers  of 
the  tug  together  at  any  time  of  the  night  if  the  steamship  was 
signalled.  There  was  fortunately  no  necessity  for  doing  so,  and 
when  the  meeting  did  take  place  it  was  beneath  the  fairest  of  skies 
and  amid  the  balmiest  of  breezes — a  perfect  autumn  day. 

About  ten  o'clock,  Wednesday  morning,  word  was  received  on 
the  Catalpa  that  the  Parthia  had  passed  Fire  Island.  An  hour 
later  Mr.  William  P.  Clyde's  steam  yacht,  the  Ocean  Gem,  having 
on  board  another  party  of  welcome,  glided  past  the  Quarantine 
dock  amid  an  exchange  of  cheers,  and  on  toward  Sandy  Hook. 
On  the  yacht  were  Aldermen  Roosevelt,  McClane,  and  Brady,  of 
the  Aldermanic  Committee;  Colonel  Church  and  Judge  F.  J. 
Fithian,  of  the  Citizen's  Committee;  Chief  Engineers  Loring  and 
Allen,  and  Past  Assistant  Engineers  Kelly  and  Barry,  of  the 
United  States  Navy;  Messrs.  H.  C.  Ellis,  J.  Bryar,  F.  M.  Can- 
field,  John  Collins,  and  others. 

Health  Officer  Smith  had  kindly  agreed  to  go  out  to  the  Par- 
thia in  the  Catalpa,  and  when  at  half-past  twelve  she  swung  off 
from  her  dock  upon  the  announcement  that  the  Parthia  was  com- 
ing up  the  Narrows,  she  carried  that  official  with  her,  as  well  as 
one  of  the  gayest  and  most  expectant  parties  ever  seen.  There 

(470) 


MELVILLE   AT    HOME.  471 

were  on  board  Mrs.  John  A.  Demorest  and  Maggie  Melville,  sis- 
ters of  the  chief  engineer  ;  Mr.  Alexander  Melville,  his  brother; 
Miss  Lydia  V.  Demorest,  his  niece;  Miss  Newman,  the  affianced 
of  Nindermann,  and  her  mother  and  brother;  Captain  J.  A.  W. 
Watton,  the  father  of  Mrs.  De  Long ;  Mr.  Gustavus  W.  Lindquist, 
a  mate  of  Nindermann  on  the  Polaris  expedition;  Mr.  John  C. 
Morrison,  who  shipped  the  crew  for  the  Jeannette;  Surveyor 
Graham,  Chief  Engineer  Maggee,  United  States  Navy;  Com- 
mander  Kane,  United  States  Navy;  Paymasters  Caswell  and 
Skelding.  United  States  Navy;  Lieutenants  Jacques  and  Drake, 
United  States  Navy;  Past  Assistant  Surgeon  Russell,  of  the 
Naval  Hospital,  Brooklyn;  Mr.  R.  C.  Stone,  and  others. 

The  Catalpa  met  the  yacht  Ocean  Gem,  which  had  turned 
back  again,  and  then  the  two  went  down  the  Lower  Bay  in  com- 
pany. All  were  in  a  state  of  great  expectation.  When  Dr. 
Smith  was  asked  if  it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  him  to  go 
down  so  far  to  meet  a  steamship,  he  replied  that  this  was  an  un- 
usual occasion. 

At  a  little  after  one  o'clock  the  two  parties  approached  the 
Parthia.  A  scene  of  the  wildest  enthusiasm,  and  which  the  par- 
ticipants will  never  forget,  ensued.  First  the  Ocean  Gem  ran  up 
to  the  steamship  and  saluted  her,  the  steamship  blowing  two 
whistles  in  response.  Then  the  turn  of  the  Catalpa  came,  and  as  she 
ran  up  toward  the  Parthia  on  the  starboard  side,  they  also  ex- 
changed salutes.  Long  before  their  voices  could  be  made  to 
reach  across  the  distance  which  divided  them,  the  passengers  on 
both  vessels  were  frantically  waving  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs 
or  whatever  else  was  conveniently  at  hand  to  wave;  and  by  the 
especially  strong  demonstration  proceeding  from  the  Parthia's 
after  deck,  it  was  evident  to  those  on  the  tug  that  the  party  they 
had  come  to  welcome  was  there.  And  so  it  proved,  as  the  two 
came  nearer,  and  shouts  and  cheers  took  the  place  of  hats  and 
handerchiefs. 

'  We've  got  him! '  shouted  a  hundred  voices  from  the  Par- 
thia. 'We've  got  him!  He  is  here!'  and  they  pointed  in  the 
direction  where  Melville  was  standing,  and  urged  him  to  a  more 
conspicuous  place  on  the  ship's  side.  He  did  not  require  much 
urging  either,  but  scrambled  upon  the  railing  and  shouted  until 
he  was  hoarse,  or  would  have  been  if  he  were  not  such  an  old 


472  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

sailor.  His  sisters  cried  their  welcome  to  him,  and  he  pulled  his 
cap  from  his  head  like  an  overjoyed  boy  and  flung  it  toward 
them.  It  fell  into  the  water,  though  intended  to  reach  the 
deck  of  the  Catalpa;  but  no  matter  about  the  hat. 

The  wildest  excitement  prevailed  when  the  Parthia  took  the 
lines  of  the  tug,  and  preparations  were  making  to  open  the  freight 
port  amidships  for  the  health  officer.  Friends  of  Nindermann, 
Noros,  and  Berry  saw  their  dear  old  faces  above  the  railing  of  the 
steamship  and  laughed  and  cheered  and  cried;  Melville  and  his 
family  and  fellow  officers  were  hurriedly  exchanging  greetings, 
and  all  the  other  passengers  on  both  vessels  were  crowding  to  the 
sides  and  hurrahing,  except  some  in  the  steerage  of  the  Parthia, 
who  took  up  the  familiar  air — 

Home  again!  home  again! 
From  a  foreign  shore. 

From  a  foreign  shore,  indeed!  Wide  open  swung  the  iron 
doors  of  the  freight  port,  and  up  went  the  doctor,  helped  by  a 
dozen  pairs  of  hands.  At  his  heels  was  Lieutenant  Jacques,  who 
was  supposed  to  be  the  only  other  person  to  board  the  Parthia ;  but 
Commander  Kane,  Paymaster  Skelding  and  several  others  fol- 
lowed him.  They  brought  down  Melville,  or  rather  they  followed 
him,  for  Melville  was  too  eager  to  be  brought,  and  the  first  arms 
into  which  he  fell,  as  he  reached  the  deck  of  the  tug,  were  those 
of  Chief  Engineer  Maggee.  They  embraced  like  lovers,  Melville 
dropping  his  head  upon  his  old  friend's  shoulder  and  then  kissing 
him  on  the  cheek,  both  of  them  in  tears  the  while.  The  shouting 
had  to  be  done  by  the  mere  spectators  now,  for  the  voices  of  all 
the  others  were  choked  with  emotion.  Melville  embraced  his 
brother,  and  others  of  his  companions  in  the  navy,  and  then  meet- 
ing Captain  "Watton,  fell  upon  his  neck,  and  they  cried  together. 
Those  tears  were  for  De  Long,  but  not  a  word  was  necessary  to 
make  it  understood. 

Then  Melville  went  back  upon  the  steamship  to  look  after  his 
luggage,  and  two  boxes  that  were  to  be  transferred  to  the  tug, 
— the  two  boxes  which,  as  he  afterwards  said,  he  had  not  once  lost 
sight  of  these  many  months,  containing  all  that  was  found  belong- 
ing to  De  Long  and  his  companions,  including  the  log  and  the 
private  records.  Melville's  old  comrades  declared  he  looked 
almost  the  same  as  ever,  except  that  he  had  lost  a  little  flesh,  and 


MELVILLE  AT  HOME.  47B 

that  his  hair,  which  grew  long  upon  his  neck,  was  a  little  thinner. 
His  rather  tall  and  heavy  figure  looked  pliant  as  ever,  and  his 
gray  eyes,  surmounted  by  a  high  forehead,  which  looked  all  the 
higher  because  of  a  little  baldness,  beamed  with  their  old,  affec- 
tionate lustre. 

'Welcome,  Noros! '  cried  a  score  of  voices,  as  the  athletic  figure 
of  a  young  man,  with  a  bronzed  face,  blue  eyes,  and  a  light  brown 
moustache,  clambered  with  a  sailor's  agility  through  the  port  in 
the  steamer's  side  down  upon  the  rail  of  the  tug,  there  to  have  his 
hands  grasped  and  to  be  hugged  about  as  enthusiastically  as  Mel- 
ville had  been  greeted.  Noros  is  the  most  youthful  of  any  of  the 
returned  explorers.  He  does  not  look  to  be  more  than  twenty- 
five  years,  and  he  is  as  shy  as  a  girl.  He  looks  like  a  New  Yorker. 
He  has  rosy  cheeks,  a  frank  face,  is  fleshy,  and  appears  none  the 
worse  for  his  terrible  experiences,  although,  as  he  explained,  he 
carries  with  him  rheumatic  pains  which  he  fears  will  not  easily  be 
shaken  off. 

Nindermann  was  the  next  to  make  his  appearance  amid 
another  burst  of  cheers  and  affectionate  greetings.  He  is  a  short 
man,  with  a  thick-set  frame,  and  looks  like  what  he  is — a  sturdy 
Swede.  He  has  a  long  black  moustache,  reaching  down  to  the 
corners  of  his  chin,  and  his  face  and  hands  are  tanned  to  the  color 
of  leather. 

Then  Melville  came  again  on  the  tug  and  renewed  his  welcomes 
until  he  was  conducted  to  the  pilot-house,  where  Nindermann  and 
Noros  had  gone  before  him,  and  where  the  ladies  were  awaiting 
them.  They  were  left  alone  there  for  a  time  with  those  belonging 
to  them,  and  the  joy  of  such  a  meeting  may  easily  be  imagined. 

The  tall  form  of  Commander  Berry  issued  from  the  side  of 
the  Parthia,  and  that  completed  the  party  intended  for  the  tug. 
Commander  Berry's  parting  from  those  on  the  steamship  was  of 
the  most  affectionate  kind,  several  of  the  lady  passengers  kissing 
him,  and  the  men  on  the  deck  cheering  him  lustily  when  he 
descended  to  the  tug.  His  welcome  there  was  as  sincere  and 
demonstrative  as  his  parting  had  been.  Bancroft  Library 

Meanwhile  the  steamship  and  tug  were  moving  at  a  good  rate 
of  speed  toward  Quarantine.  The  navy  officers  had  not  been 
wasting  their  spare  moments.  Bottles  of  champagne  were  opened 
in  the  pilot-house,  wherewith  the  family  and  friends  of  Melville 


474  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

were  to  drink  his  health;  and  Paymaster  Skelding  passed  some  of 
the  "beverage  up  to  those  on  the  Parthia,  where  it  was  hastily  made 
way  with,  and  the  bottles  were  smashed  upon  the  deck  of  the  tug 
by  way  of  a  parting  favor. 

'Engineer  Mellville,'  said  Lieutenant  Jacques,  as  he  stepped 
into  the  pilot-house,  <  I  have  the  honor  to  extend  you  a  hearty  wel- 
come on  behalf  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  the  commander 
and  officers  of  this  station.' 

The  returned  explorer  bowed  his  thanks,  and  added  that  such 
a  reception  was  more  than  he  had  looked  for. 

A  scene  of  a  different  kind  was  soon  to  follow.  Poor  Captain 
Watton  stood  on  the  deck  outside  the  pilot-house,  and  he  and 
Melville  met  again.  The  captain  asked  him  something  about  De 
Long. 

1  My  God  ! '  cried  Melville,  bursting  into  tears  and  grasping 
Captain  Watton's  hand,  '  you  have  lost  a  son  and  I  a  friend.  They 
may  say  what  they  like,  but  I  assure  you  for  Melville  that  he  has 
lost  a  friend.' 

The  Catalpa  had  cut  loose  from  the  Parthia,  whose  passengers 
gave  a  parting  yell  for  Melville  that  might  have  been  heard  in 
Coney  Island,  opposite  to  which  these  scenes  transpired,  and  the 
Ocean  Gem  ran  alongside  the  tug.  Melville  first  and  many  others 
afterward,  including  some  of  the  relatives  of  the  honored  guests. 
were  transferred  to  the  yacht.  On  her  decks  the  scenes  of  glad 
greeting  were  repeated.  As  the  yacht  started  for  the  city,  Alder- 
man McClane  made  a  speech  of  welcome  to  Melville  on  behalf  of 
the  city  authorities,  tendering  him  the  Governor's  Room  for  the 
purpose  of  a  public  reception ;  and  Colonel  Church  followed  with 
a  speech  of  welcome  on  behalf  of  the  citizens  of  New  York  and 
of  the  country.  A  handsome  lunch  was  spread  in  the  cabin  of 
the  yacht,  to  which  Melville  and  his  companions  were  invited ;  but 
they  were  too  much  elated  to  remember  their  stomachs,  and  after 
a  show  of  eating  and  some  real  drinking,  a  happy  speech  by 
Alderman  Roosevelt,  and  a  complimentary  resolution  to  Mr.  Wil- 
liam P.  Clyde  for  his  courtesy  and  assistance,  the  party  went  on 
deck. 

Here,  on  the  after-deck,  an  extraordinary  contrast  was  at  one 
time  presented;  one  of  those  rain-in-the-sunlight  scenes  which 
form  so  strange  a  phase  of  our  human  life.  On  two  camp-stools, 


MELVILLE    AT   HOME,  475 

side  by  side  and  hand  in  hand,  sat  Melville  and  Captain  Watton, 
talking  together  in  low  tones,  and  the  tears  coursing  down  the 
cheeks  of  both.  Within  arm's  reach  of  them,  and  also  side  by 
side  and  hand  in  hand,  sat  Nindermann  and  his  affianced  bride; 
but  they  spoke  only  with  their  eyes,  and  their  faces  were  so  happy 
that  they  rained  smiles  on  all  around  them." 

A  crowd  of  people  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  yacht  at  Twenty- 
third  street.  Mellville  disembarked  amid  the  greatest  display  of 
enthusiasm,  was  led  off  the  dock  between  two  files  of  marines, 
and,  followed  by  the  entire  party,  took  carriages  which  were  in 
waiting  to  convey  them  to  the  Hoffman  House.  Shortly  after- 
ward a  delegation  from  Philadelphia  waited  on  Melville  and  his 
companions,  and  tendered  to  them  the  hospitality  of  their  city  in 
the  name  of  the  committee  of  citizens  they  represented. 

Mr.  Melville  had  been  invited  to  visit  Public  School  No.  3,  at 
the  corner  of  Grove  and  Hudson  streets,  and  was  there  at  nine 
o'clock  precisely.  Many  friends  and  relatives  of  the  pupils  were 
present.  After  being  introduced,  Mr.  Melville,  in  a  short  speech 
said  that  he  had  himself  received  his  first  instruction  at  this  very 
school;  that  he  looked  back  to  those  days  as  the  happiest  of  his 
life,  and  that  he  hoped  all  his  juvenile  hearers  would  '  make  hay 
while  the  sun  shines,'  and  grow  up  to  be  useful  members  of  the 
community. 

After  Mr.  Melville  had  returned  to  his  hotel,  two  ladies 
dressed  in  deep  black  called  upon  him.  They  were  the  sisters  of 
[Lieutenant  Chipp,  and  there  were  tears  in  the  eyes  of  all  three  as 
they  took  their  leave.  Later  in  the  day,  Melville  called  on  Mrs. 
De  Long,  at  the  residence  of  her  father,  Captain  Watton,  and  con- 
veyed to  her  the  last  messages  of  her  dead  husband.  In  the  af- 
ternoon, at  a  public  reception  in  the  Governor's  room  at  the  City 
Hall,  many  citizens  called  on  Melville  and  Noros. 

In  the  evening  about  150  gentlemen  sat  down  to  a  banquet 
tendered  to  Melville  at  Delmonico's.  Judge  J.  R.  Brady  presided, 
and  in  a  short  speech  said  that  they  had  met  to  honor  men  who 
had  shed  glory  upon  the  American  name  in  the  Arctic  regions. 
As  an  explorer,  Melville  had  distinguished  himself  by  his  fortitude, 
fidelity,  courage,  and  heroism. 

'But,'  he  continued,  'while  the  national  heart  throbs  with 
great  pleasure  at  his  return,  and  while  in  every  household  in  the 


476  THE   JEANNETTE   ARCTIC   EXPEDITION. 

United  States  his  name  is  as  familiar  as  a  household  word,  we 
must  turn  to  the  unfortunate  comrades  whose  lives  were  lost  in 
the  same  noble  pursuit  in  which  he  was  engaged.  And,  gentle- 
men, now  I  ask  you  to  turn  for  a  moment  to  the  unfortunate 
De  Long  and  his  comrades,  and  to  drink  to  their  memory  in 
silence  and  standing.'  The  toast  was  drank  amid  the  most  intense 
silence. 

In  response  to  cheers  given  in  his  honor,  Mr.  Melville  spoke 
hurriedly  as  follows: — 

'GENTLEMEN: — In  behalf  of  myself  and  my  two  comrades — 
two  sailor  men  who  are  here  to-night — I  will  say  two  or  three 
words — I  won't  count  them,  but  I  shall  say  only  two  or  three, 
and,  indeed,  I  should  prefer  to  say  nothing  at  all.  I  can  only  say 
that  I  feel  that  we  did  our  whole  duty,  that  we  did  all  that  we 
could  do,  and  that  if  we  had  not  tried  to  do  that  we  would  have 
been  no  men  at  all.' 

Letters  of  regret  from  several  distinguished  gentlemen  were 
then  read.  Among  them  was  one  from  Rev.  H.  W.  Beecher,  who 
expressed  admiration  for  the  hero  of  the  evening,  and  his  com- 
panions in  hardship,  and  concluded  with  the  declaration  that  there 
was  no  invention  of  art  of  so  much  value  as  that  which  raises  the 
standard  of  simple  manhood.  Mayor  Grace  then  made  a  speech, 
from  which  the  following  are  extracts: — 

'  There  sit  here  beside  us  the  survivors  of  a  brave  company, 
the  history  of  whose  fateful  voyage  we  know  so  well.  These  men 
and  their  companions,  whom  we  shall  see  no  more,  have  displayed 
such  courage  and  endurance  as  the  world  rarely  sees.  There  is 
no  one  so  thoughtless,  none  with  so  poor  a  memory,  that  their 
story  is  not  graven  on  his  heart.  After  twenty  months  of  tortu- 
ous drifting,  clamped  in  oceanic  ice,  their  stanch  ship — stanch 
as  wealth  and  skill  could  devise — went  down  in  the  darkness  of 
Arctic  night.  Then  came  months  of  wandering,  and  cold,  hunger, 
and  death;  but  their  hearts  were  stancher  than  their  ship.  Their 
invincible  courage  never  faltered.  To  you,  sir,  and  to  all  the  gal- 
lant crew,  from  the  dead  leader  to  the  humblest  surviving  seaman, 
do  all  brave  hearts  owe  their  testimony,  that,  though  our  navy  may 
be  deficient  in  hulls  of  iron,  she  yet  has  her  hearts  of  oak.  At 
that  parting  scene — the  most  pathetic  in  the  history  of  Arctic 
exploration — when  on  the  banks  of  the  Lena,  standing  knee  deep 


MELVILLE   AT    HOME.  477 

in  snow,  the  men  gave  three  cheers  to  the  two  comrades  who 
were  going  forth  for  rescue,  the  last  words  from  the  already  clos- 
ing grave  were  these: — 'When  you  get  to  New  York,  remember 
me.'  Yes,  we  do  remember  them.  We  remember  their  gallantry, 
their  courage  to  dare,  and  still  higher  courage  to  endure. 

1  There  is  no  man  with  capacity  for  growth  who  is  not  made 
better  and  stronger  by  contemplation  of  the  characteristic  bravery 
and  will  of  these  gentlemen  and  their  dead  comrades.  It  is  these 
things  which  spring  directly  out  of  human  nature  which  touch  a 
sympathetic  chord  in  every  man's  heart,  where  a  Newton  or  a 
Kepler  are  cold  abstractions.  It  is  because  these  gentlemen  have 
shown  us  in  themselves  the  very  types  of  courage  and  unselfish 
devotion,  that  this  city  and  this  country  welcome  them  with  a  joy 
which  is  tempered  only  with  grief  for  the  loss  of  the  brave  men 
who  will  come  home  no  more.' 

Chief  Engineer  Isherwood  said  that  Melville's  brother  engi- 
neers were  not  surprised  when  they  read  of  his  exploits.  He  did 
precisely  what  they  should  have  expected  from  him.  Engineers 
were  trained  to  grapple  with  and  overcome  the  forces  of  nature. 
The  chief  distinction  between  the  ancient  and  the  modern  civil- 
izations, lay  in  the  fact  that  the  ancients  had  no  engineers. 

Judge  Brady  remarked  that  in  the  navy  it  was  impossible  to 
get  on  without  hatchways,  and  introduced  Uncle  Rufus  Hatch, 
inviting  him  to  say  whether  he  was  a  '  bull '  or  a  '  bear '  on  engi- 
neering. The  Wall  street  sage  made  some  amusing  references 
to  his  recent  trip  through  the  Northwest,  and  apropos  des  lottes 
remarked  that  <  all  of  us '  would  have  at  the  end  of  our  lives  a 
little  obituary  notice  in  the  Herald — provided  the  survivors  were 
able  to  pay  for  it.  But  when  all  ordinary  obituaries  had  been  for- 
gotten, the  names  of  Melville  and  his  companions  would  still  be 
fresh  and  brilliant  in  the  pages  of  the  history  of  heroism,  and 
would  be  pointed  to  with  pride  by  their  posterity. 

Senator  Jones  was  then  called  upon  to  respond  in  behalf  of 
the  United  States  Senate.  He  delivered  a  glowing  eulogy  upon 
the  heroism  and  self-sacrifice  of  the  men  of  the  Jeannette.  As 
dangers  thickened,  and  the  chances  of  life  decreased,  he  said,  the 
humanity  and  fellowship  of  the  sufferers  increased.  Those  whom 
God  permitted  to  survive  did  not  save  themselves  at  the  expense 
of  their  fellow-sufferers.  This  was  the  highest  manifestation  of 


478  THE   JEANNETTE    ARCTIC    EXPEDITION. 

human  virtue,  and  if  we  honor  Melville  for  perilling  his  own  life 
we  ought  to  honor  him  still  more  for  valuing  the  welfare  and 
safety  of  his  companions  above  his  own.  God  grant  that  he 
might  long  continue  to  enjoy  the  honors  that  he  deserves  from  his 
fellow-creatures.  He  was  a  man  all  Americans  should  be  proud 
of.  The  good  qualities  he  displayed  in  presence  of  danger  were 
peculiarly  American. 

Judge  Brady  then  said  that  he  had  not  forgotten  that  there 
were  two  companions  of  Melville  present — Messrs.  Nindermann 
and  Noros.  He  proposed  their  health,  which  was  drunk  with 
enthusiasm  and  three  cheers. 

'  Bring  them  to  the  front! '  was  the  cry  after  the  toast  had 
been  honored;  and  the  two  seamen  were  led  to  the  dais  at  the 
head  of  the  table  amid  a  round  of  applause,  to  which  they  blush- 
ingly  bowed  their  acknowledgment. 

Captain  Parker  responded  to  the  toast  to  the  health  of  Nin- 
dermann and  Noros.  He  said  that  it  was  well  to  do  honor  to- 
lead  ers  like  Melville;  but  they  should  remember  that  it  was  the 
faithfulness,  courage,  and  obedience  of  the  subordinates  that  ren- 
dered the  glory  of  their  leaders  possible. 

After  speeches  by  several  other  gentlemen,  the  meeting  dis- 
persed with  three  hearty  cheers  for  Melville,  Nindermann,  and 
Noros. 

About  noon  the  next  day  a  deputation  of  citizens  of  Philadel- 
phia and  officers  of  the  navy  stationed  there,  proceeded  to  the 
Hoffman  House  to  escort  the  Arctic  voyagers  to  the  City  of 
Brotherly  Love.  This  committee  consisted  of  Commodore 
Rodgers,  U.  S.  N.,  chairman;  James  A.  Wright,  Geo.  W.  Childs, 
Colonel  John  Price  Wetherill,  General  Weitzel,  U.  S.  A. ;  Chief 
Engineer  Hilbert,  U.  S.  N. ;  Pay  Director  A.  W.  Russell,  U.  S.  N.; 
Joel  Cook,  0.  E.  McClellan,  Edward  W.  Clark,  and  H.  T.  Kenny, 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  The  party  traveled  in  the  special 
car  of  President  Roberts  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad;  and  on 
arriving  at  Philadelphia,  and  while  stopping  there,  Melville  and 
his  companions  received  a  welcome  no  less  hearty  than  that 
accorded  them  in  New  York.  Melville's  interview  with  a  depu- 
tation, fifty  in  number,  from  the  Association  of  ex-engineers  of 
the  United  States  Navy  was  particularly  interesting  and  affecting. 


MELVILLE   AT   HOME.  479 

<  God  bless  you,  old  fellows,'  was  Melville's  first  greeting,  as  he 
sprang  among  them. 

From  Philadelphia  Mr.  Melville  proceeded  to  his  home  at 
Sharon  Hill,  Pennsylvania,  and  was  cordially  received  by  citizens 
of  that  town.  While  in  New  York  he  had  received  from  them  a 
congratulatory  letter,  which  closed  as  follows: — 

'  But  if  you  have  not  brought  us  tales  of  new  lands  and  new 
seas  which  hide  behind  the  glaciers  of  the  Arctics,  there  has  come 
to  us  over  that  polar  messenger,  the  telegraph,  other  tidings  of 
frightful  sufferings,  manfully  borne — of  partial  rescue — and  finally 
of  a  self-devotion  and  heroism  in  the  search  for  your  lost  com- 
rades, that  throws  a  melancholy  sweetness  over  the  monotonous 
agony  and  the  final  deep  tragedy  of  the  voyage  of  the  Jeannette. 

'The  whole  civilized  world  is  thrilled  to  the  core  with  the 
story  of  your  search  for  the  dead.  You,  as  the  leader  of  that 
search,  have  earned  a  foremost  place  in  the  roll  of  Arctic  heroes. 
And  we,  your  neighbors,  in  welcoming  you  back  to  your  home — 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  mankind — accord  to  you  the  respect 
and  the  homage  due  to  one  who  holds  life  as  of  little  worth  when 
duty  or  humanity  calls.  May  the  past  years  of  suffering  be  atoned 
for  by  an  unclouded  future — a  future  in  which  no  long  Arctic 
night  will  have  a  place,  but  where  all  will  be  warmth,  and  sun- 
shine, and  happiness.  "With  heartfelt  respect  we  greet  you, 
neighbor.' 


